The famous Spanish referee Antonio Mateo Laos is thinking about ending his career at the end of the season, journalist Gastun Edul reports on Twitter.
The 45-year-old referee has faced harsh criticism over the past month for his handling of World Cup, La Liga and Copa del Rey matches. The competent football authorities of the country have decided to suspend him from the matches that will take place this coming weekend.
Laos sparked controversy after the 2022 World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands when they set a new record for the most yellow cards in a single tournament match. The referee found himself in the spotlight after returning to Spain. He set another record for the number of cards in a La Liga match when he worked in a match between Barcelona and Espanyol. Already this week, he sent off Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli in the 17th minute of a Copa del Rey match against Linares.
Let us remind you that Laos is also infamous for Ukrainian football fans. He judged the match of the final play-off qualification for the World Cup in Qatar between the national teams of Ukraine and Wales (0:1). The referee did not award a penalty kick after a blatant foul on Andriy Yarmolenko in the Welsh penalty area.