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FC Barcelona was held in check by Espanyol during the derby of Catalonia which corresponded to the 15th day of the Spanish LaLiga. A match that was particularly marked by the attitude of the referee Mateu Lahoz, who did not hesitate to distribute 15 yellow cards and 2 red. And if the latter spoke a lot on the field, it is to make himself respected as demonstrated by his statements that were revealed in broad daylight.
Antonio Mateu Lahoz, known for his hot temper at times, was one of the protagonists of the Barça-Espanyol match on Saturday, December 31, the last match of the year in LaLiga, and the last for both teams in 2022. And in a match that seemed calm at first glance, the Valencian referee showed his more talkative side at the Camp Nou. Worse, he ended up slipping with a total of 15 yellow cards and two red cards, as well as a third that he ended up cancelling. So he ended up being the main protagonist of the derby, even beyond the warning of the suspension of Robert Lewandowksi.
In fact, a few days after this match to forget for Barcelona, the Movistar program ”El Día Después” showed the images of the camera that followed him during the match, and the conversations he had throughout this match full of cards were revealed. Since a camera of “The Day After” followed him during the match Barça-Espanyol. And in one of the first actions of the match, Mateu Lahoz called Ansu Fati on a corner kick to say.
“Ansu, come, come, you, come”, he asked. “Now you make me angry. No, listen to me, shut up. You wait. Look at me, look at me, look at me. Even if I catch you, do not elbow me, okay?” concluded the referee’s conversation with the number 10 of Barça. A few minutes later, he would warn him for the same reason in an action with Óscar Gil.
Later, and following this action, Mateu approached Xavi to be the star of one of the gruesome images of the game: the hug and kiss to Xavi Hernandez, after being shown the yellow for his protests. The television images also show interactions with players like Gavi, Raphinha and Ferran Torres. Moreover, “I cancel it”, was his laconic sentence when he removed Cabrera’s red card after seeing the action on the VAR. To top it all off, after the final whistle, Alvaro Fernandez, the Espanyol goalkeeper, approached the referee and said: “Mateu, I was good, wasn’t I? A strange question.
