Nobody was satisfied with the performance of the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, and both the Argentines and the Dutch raised their voices after the quarter-final match to criticize him. One of the toughest was Frenkie De Jong: “As soon as regulation time was over they went looking for him. From that moment He only booed for Argentina. He was really outrageous“.
The Holland midfielder knows the Spanish judge well as he plays for Barcelona, but assured: “He’s a good boy, a good referee. But he was out of line here. I think he got lost in extra time. It could very well be that the magnitude of Lionel Messi they influenced him. It’s not the referee’s fault, but he affected the match.”
De Jong closes: “I was convinced we would win when we drew. I was convinced we would be world champions.”
More complaints against the referee
Dutch coach Louis van Gaal also referred to the referee’s performance, but clarified: “I want to see that penalty again. And all the time the Argentines lost… But let’s not lose to the referee, because we’re still tied.”
And other players like Jurrien Timber have also hit the Spanish whistle: “I was afraid he would suddenly receive a second yellow card. You never knew about him.”
And Steven Berghuis added: “It’s always about him too much, I think. It’s not important. We’ve worked with a great group here, but we’re out. And that hurts, also because we had the feeling that we had to bring them down. But a feeling is not enough And we couldn’t do that.”
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.