Mateu Lahoz's journey could come to an end
Hated by most, loved by a few others, it seems very likely that Antonio Mateu Lahoz aka ‘Toño’ will no longer be seen trotting about the stadiums of LaLiga, whistle in hand, once this season ends.
According to ‘Cadena Ser’, the president of the refereeing committee (CTA), Medina Cantalejo, has informed Mateu Lahoz and Carlos del Cerro Grande that they will no longer be needed on the pitch.
Instead, ‘Marca’ has revealed it seems likely they’ll be given a role as video assistant referees (VAR) for the near future, even though Mateu Lahoz admitted that he is not too keen on that option and that his desire is to remain on the pitch.
An official announcement is still pending from the CTA to confirm this decision, because let’s not forget this isn’t the first time Mateu Lahoz has been retired beforehand by the press or social media.
He was first retired in January 2020 after a fake tweet related to ‘El Día de los Santos Inocentes’ which takes place on the 28th December and is the Spanish equivalent of April Fool’s day.
Then again, in June 2021 a rumour spread on Twitter insisting he would be retiring after EURO 2020 (which took place in 2021). Because Mateu Lahoz got very emotional after refereeing the Champions League final between Mancester City and Chelsea, some concluded he was about to put an end to his career. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before this theory was debunked.
More rumours came about in early 2022. This is because a few years back LaLiga referees were forced to retire at the age of 45, so Mateu Lahoz was expected to end his career after the 21/22 season. But this rule was later revised and changed in September 2020. Since then, the CTA is in charge of deciding who continues and who doesn’t, irrespective of age. Being such a controversial ref, some thought (or hoped) the CTA would no longer be interested in his services, until his presence at World Cup in Qatar was confirmed which dissipated any further suspicions.
The last attempt to retire Mateu Lahoz was this January, after all the controversy generated during the Argentina - Netherlands quarter-final in which he added 10 minutes of extra time and handed out 18 yellow cards, followed by the Barça - Espanyol tie in LaLiga where he showed the players 16 cards, including 2 reds. Days after, Medina Cantalejo spoke out to deny these claims and to confirm that Mateu Lahoz wants to keep on pursuing his passion.
Clearly his particular refereeing style hasn’t made him too many friends, but no matter when he retires he’ll definitely make it into the history books of LaLiga after 15 seasons. Currently he’s the third ref with more matches in the Spanish top tier with 282. Only Iturralde González (291) and Undiano Mallenco (348), both retired, have more.