Mateu Lahoz: Who is the referee who dared not charge Qatar a penalty in their World Cup?

Mateu Lahoz is once again the protagonist in the match between Qatar and Senegal on the second date of group A. The Spanish referee was the focus of attention and criticism for his controversial refereeing in this match, where once again he was questioned about his decisions.

Undoubtedly, his most controversial decision happened during the first half, when he failed to clear a clear for the Qataris from a foul inside the area. Despite the claims of the hosts, Lahoz did not hesitate: for him there was no fault. There was no call from the VAR either. This penalty, quite clearly, would have served one of the weakest hosts in the history of the World Cups.

Later in the course of the game, Qatar could not recover. Although he scored his first goal in the tournament to which he has dedicated millions in his organization, he was demolished by the Senegalese, who settled them with a final 3-1.

It is not the first time that the 45-year-old Spaniard has stolen the show from the show in a match. Already in La Liga and the Champions League he had been in the news for his performance in both competitions. Despite this, incredible as it may seem, FIFA showed solid support for Lahoz by choosing him as one of the 36 referees chosen for this World Cup.

For the Valencian international Qatar 2022 is the second World Cup, after its appearance in Russia 2018. Qatar versus Senegal is their third meeting in a World Cup event. Four years ago he directed two games and in another three he acted as the fourth referee.

La Hoz is the only man in black born in Spain, in Qatar 2022. “We are going to a World Cup in which, out of 34 people in my family, 33 and a half want to see another goal from Iniesta. The medium is me, and we know it. That’s honest. From the moment we arrive in Doha, we are going to prepare ourselves to do the best possible in the match that we have. We are also going to watch the games from outside to analyze them and be able to improve. You not only improve with your mistakes, but also by seeing where others fail”.

In an interview, Lahoz stated his position on video arbitration: “VAR? We have to improve ourselves, we are the ones who use it. People may believe that any fault is interpretable. It is not that it has another regulation, it is that there are actions that are at the discretion of the referee even if the same regulation is applied. They are discretionary plays.” Was the foul against Qatar a discretionary play?