Selection of Spanish referee in Cristiano Ronaldo game sparks controversy
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The selection of Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz for the decisive game of the Saudi Championship between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Al Ittihad, this Thursday (9), has generated controversy in Arabia.
Al Ittihad fans have been protesting on social networks claiming that Mateu ‘loves’ Cristiano Ronaldo and that he will not make a fair arbitration.
HOW THE POLEMIC REPERCUSES
Fans have shared some photos of Mateu and Cristiano smiling or even hugging.
Even a Saudi journalist hinted at some distrust of the referee’s selection. “They’re friends,” he said.
The game is seen as an early league decision, as Al Nassr leads the table with 46 points and Al Ittihad is right behind, in second, with 44.
HISTORY IS NOT THAT FRIENDLY
In 2015, Cristiano would have touched an intimate region of the body to offend the referee and said the following sentence: “Mateu, you like it, don’t you?”.
Cristiano would have made the gesture shortly after being punished with a yellow card by the referee in the 2-1 loss to Barcelona.
In 2016, Lahoz apologized to Cristiano for not having scored a penalty on him, also in a derby with Barcelona. “Are you angry, Cristiano?” he said.
WHO IS MATEU LAHOZ?
The 45-year-old referee has been playing in the Spanish Championship since the 2008/09 season, having officiated several Real Madrid games when CR7 defended the team.
He was criticized by Lionel Messi after the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar.
He refereed the 2018 and 2022 Cups and championship games such as Eurocopa and Champions League.
Its peak in the Champions League was the decision of the 2020/21 season, with the final between Manchester City and Chelsea.
This will be their third Saudi League game; he refereed one in 2018/19 and another in 2019/20, showing a total of eight yellow cards and three reds.
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