Antonio Mateu Lahoz has earned quite a reputation as a referee.
The Spaniard was under the spotlight again as Getafe CF took on Mallorca FC at home. It was a crucial game for both sides as both of them needed the points. For Getafe, they needed points to stay away from the relegation zone and for Mallorca, it was important for them to get out of it.
The match was riddled with controversies and Mateu Lahoz was at the centre of all of them.
In the 40th minute of the match, a feud broke out between Eres Unal and Sandro Ramirez of Getafe and Giovanni Gonzalez and Franco Russo. The fight was getting out of hand and a few punches were expected to follow at a certain point.
In comes Lahoz to distance all 4 players from each other. Lahoz then proceeds to give yellow cards to Eres Unal and Sandro Ramirez first and instantly turns to Gonzalez and Russo to give them a yellow each.
In the span of a second, Lahoz had booked 4 players, something fans had never seen before.
Many were comparing him to the English referee Mike Dean who declared he will be hanging up his boots by the end of the season. Dean has a similar reputation to Mateu Lahoz, so fans were quick to point out Lahoz as Dean’s “successor”.
