After a few days of some really terrible refereeing decisions in LaLigalet me start by asking you: did you know that a top referee like Antonio Mateu Lahoz can easily earn over €400,000 per season?
What is your opinion? Chump change or more your total in 10 years? Compensation enough to make refs more responsible than they are? You probably believe that when we ask our recommenders (typically 10 to 20 years old compared to the elite athletes they have to keep up with) to get noticed patrolling our favorite sport. the world and to keep the multibillion-pound industry afloat, do they deserve that level of incentive-reward? Or even more? Fine, if that’s your point.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (US)
Lahoz’s colleagues damaged the reputation of Spain’s top referee over the weekend – namely Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez and (VAR) Jaime Latre at the Bernabeu; Xavier Estrada Fernandez (VAR) in Valladolid; Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea at Villarreal; plus Juan Martinez Munuera and (VAR) Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez at Camp Nou. Although they won’t earn that much (their average income in a season will be €220,000-€300,000), they and all their colleagues owe it to us, and the football people of LaLiga, things are much more ordinary, more personal and much more knowledgeable. .
Here are some ridiculous refereeing deviations from the past five days.
Transparent Real Betis compare to Cadiz, Sergio Canales received the first red card of his nearly 500-match career after a “fight” with Mateu Lahoz, where both men babysit… followed by Valladolid’s 1-0 win Real Sociedad where VAR does not allow three goals – each goal that the team on the field initially thought was fine, and where perhaps only one intervention that met the initial criteria was a “clear and obvious” mistake.
We also witnessed three brutal attacks on ball players (Montiel and Papu Gomez Because Seville above Vinicius and Fede Valverdeafterward Dani Garcia above Gavi) those are the red cards in a row in the textbook, but only the first two are even rated as worth the reservation. (By the way, don’t listen to me. Find out these things for yourself by stream replays on ESPN+ in the US: minutes 30 and 94 at the Bernabeuafterward 27 minutes at Camp Nou).
👀 La polémica entrada del Papu Gómez a Valverde que hace enfurecer a los aficionados del Real Madrid …. pic.twitter.com/MDBU22SG4h
– Fuera de Juego (@ESPN_FDJ) October 24, 2022
All of the referee’s decisions were ignored in each case, but each time it was still not possible to do a VAR. None of the three players who perpeted the hooliganism currently face suspension, or punishment, but two of the victims, Gavi and Valverde, will miss playing time for their clubs as a result. direct. What does that mean for you? Is this after the constant training and supervision of referees, learning the rules and introducing VAR, which is really all that we, the audience, the media, the players and the managers, are, may wish? I think not.
The Piece of Resistance until Villarreal defeats Almeria On Sunday night. It was an emotional occasion. The legendary vice president of Villarreal, Jose Manuel Llaneza, has just died after a year of blood cancer. In addition to being a kind, sage, he was the cornerstone of the Golden Submarine’s 25-year rise from a third-rate team playing in a small, dilapidated stadium and training in public parks to won the European Cup, the double- Champions League semi-final club.
His death, just a few days before the match, was the main pre-match theme. There was a small ceremony in his honor before the game started and everyone at the club had promised that competition, hopefully victory, would be dedicated to Llaneza’s memory. Going 1-0 up, Yellow Submarine equalized thanks to a superb header from Alex Baena.
The young midfielder, who had been booked, rolled up his shirt, part of it tucked behind his neck, to display a message on his T-shirt that read: “Thank you Llaneza for everything.” De Burgos Bengoetxea showed a yellow card for the action, sent him off the field, then angrily and stubbornly signaled to the players that he was right. It’s a disgusting ignorance (a topic here).
Guidelines for Spanish referees state that players should not waste time on staged goal celebrations that include taking off their jerseys or covering their heads. Neither Baena did. Displaying such a message, should Villarreal score, was something De Burgos Bengoetxea, no doubt, foresaw. And, if he has any harsh intentions about showing any tribute to Llaneza after a goal, he is indebted to Villarreal for going to their dressing room before the game to warn them.
It’s a tactic that most refs, average or great, adopt: going into each locker room, after a warm-up, to inform the teams that even though the basic rules of FIFA have not changed , but every official has things that he will be more or less strict about: disagreements, wasting time, getting in the way, taking advantage – take your pick. It’s the beginning of awareness between players and referrals that can lead to a better, more fluid, less controversial match. That is common sense.
However, even if the Basque participant chose not to do this (or did not anticipate it), Baena’s actions were not entirely against the law. No undue waste of time, no shirt off, no head covering – De Burgos was able to let it go for three to four seconds, adding time to his watch and encouraging Baena to get ready to restart. He just had to show common sense, restraint, and personality.
Ditto Mateu Lahoz seeing off Canales. The situation is really strange. Betis drew Cadiz 0-0 at home in the 98th minute. As the visitors prepared to take a throw-in: Canales spoke to Lahoz; The referee points to his watch and 16 seconds later, the exceptional 31-year-old Betis midfielder has received two yellow cards and is trudging off the field.
Cadena SER radio reported that Canales said, “You can add one more minute to the clock!” Lahoz booked him and allegedly added: “If you keep talking to me, I’ll kick you out!” Canales, the captain of Betis, and therefore has every right to make a few non-abusive dialogue remarks towards any of the participants, especially the idiosyncratic Lahoz, is said to have said: ” If I’m not allowed to speak, then ask me about my personal matters too.”
Lahoz is famous for this. He believes it would give him a good introduction if, during a match, he could ask Gerard Pique How are his kids, Malaga defender Weligton whether he has opened his new cafe-bar or told Kevin De Bruyne in the 2021 Champions League final to “send greetings to my friends from me!” Mateu has never met the Belgian’s parents but he has read how important they are to the City midfielder and wants to “connect” with him by saying it. He’s quirky: extremely personable, but usually does his job pretty well. Just like in 2018, he is the only La Liga official selected to feature at the upcoming World Cup.
Anyway, all you need is proof of your own eyes (go see the facts – you can stream the answer on ESPN+ in the US) to conclude that Lahoz has committed an insult, standing on his dignity and using temperament, bad judgment, to draw Canales red card. After the first booking, Lahoz actually waved to Almeria’s throw-in, but performed a sort of double, as if suddenly deciding that Canales’ answer made him proud, skip the game and wave the second yellow shirt with a swagger “take THAT!” Prosperous. It looks like a tit-for-tat gesture.
Canales suspended, missed Betis’ 1-2 later defeat first Atlético Madrid, which means his punishment goes far beyond anything he does or says. After the midweek game, Lahoz’s report did not say Canales had insulted, sworn or even protested – simply noting that he had made “observations”. Piteous.
Meanwhile, the trouble with Xavier Estrada Fernandez’s job (as a VAR official in Valladolid 1-0 Real Sociedad, for which he will be paid 2,100 euros) is that he continues the trend for VAR to re-enter arbitrate anything with potential consequences instead of the original criterion of “clear and obvious” error review/correction.
Fans and players were robbed of three goals. And while the video review correctly identified two previous fouls and one offside, only the latter came close to the “obvious and obvious” category. When will the international referee officially announce that, whenever a goal is scored, the VAR must look at anything that might confuse them instead of looking at a decision in a split second that was taken over by the referee team. ignored but is that a clear and obvious error? The criteria for when to use VAR have changed, and we deserve to be honest and clear about it.
As for what I consider to be the assaults by Papu and Montiel against Vinicius and Valverde, and also Garcia against Gavi, I dare anyone (other than VAR officials that night) to review them and not conclude there is a serious foul. FIFA rules state that: “A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be punished as a serious offence.”
The referees are under a lot of pressure, highly skilled, very fit and … necessary. But their main mission isn’t to protect each other, point out a player as the player’s boss, or hide behind the current wall of silence – they don’t take their job seriously for the health of the industry. , is not paid as high as it is now. request. It is not because of the fact that the health of the players, the quality of entertainment and the enjoyment of the fans that they are recruited must ensure.
For all purposes and purposes, they are our employees. And we deserve better standards of wisdom, common sense, and honesty about error.
