Media sources said on Monday that FIFA had decided to exclude Spanish referee Antonio Mateo Laos from two semi-final matches of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Mirror newspaper wrote about referee Laos: “The referee of the World Cup returned home after criticism from Lionel Messi and Argentina.”
And an English newspaper said that Spanish referee Laos is not officially in the World Cup after he was criticized by Argentine star Lionel Messi after he directed Argentina’s match against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. .
1️⃣7️⃣ yellow cards later and he finally got his own marching orders https://t.co/SrAvs8u4V9
– Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) December 12, 2022
Lionel Messi clearly attacked Laos with harsh and nervous language directed at him, in addition to his statements about the referee after the match.
Messi said of Laos: “You can’t put a referee on a World Cup match that isn’t up to his level. We were terrified before the match because we know this referee.”
Messi previously knew referee Laos, who officiated several matches for him in Spain during his flea spell for Barcelona from 2004 to 2021.
And the same source said that FIFA reacted to Messi’s criticism and removed the Spanish referee from managing the remaining matches of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
A marathon match in which the Argentina national team scored a spectacular victory over their Dutch counterpart on penalties (4-2) after they drew (2-2) at Lusail Stadium, in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. witnessed skirmishes and fights between the players of the two teams.
The most famous Spanish referee issued 16 yellow cards, as well as a red card to Denzel Dumfries, a player from the Netherlands national team.
Source: mirror.co.uk
