Lionel Messi has slammed Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz after he dished out 15 yellow cards in Argentina’s quarter-final win over Netherlands.
The Argentina captain was once again the star of the show, leading his team into semi-final with a goal and an assist before also converting his penalty in the shootout.
The game became a heated affair with Lahoz booking 15 players plus two staff members during the 120 minutes in a match where South African Victor Gomes was the fourth official.
After the match, Messi expressed his dissatisfaction with Lahoz, saying FIFA should not allow him to be in charge of such a high-profile game.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you for being honest,” he said as per Argentina journalist Roy Nemer.
“I think people saw what it was. FIFA cannot use this kind of referee for this type of match.”
