In recent days, Antonio Mateu Lahoz's statements about refereeing in La Liga have caused a great stir. The former Valencian referee openly criticized his colleagues and Real Madrid. Cristóbal Soria revealed unknown details about Mateu Lahoz and the CTA.
Mateu Lahoz's Controversial Statements
It all started after the match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, where Mateu Lahoz praised De Burgos Bengoetxea's refereeing. His comment about Bengoetxea and his lack of connection with Javier Enríquez Romero, Negreira's son, was surprising. In his intervention, Mateu Lahoz hinted that referees who maintained a relationship with Enríquez Romero were more successful, especially in international competitions like UEFA.
"It's a shame for him not to have been a client of Javier Enríquez Romero, because those who were his clients today in UEFA are doing much better," Lahoz commented. These statements were quickly interpreted as an attack on the refereeing system and the committee itself, especially due to the extradeportive implications they insinuated.
Response from the Technical Committee of Referees
The CTA did not take long to react and issued a statement in which they expressed their "absolute repulsion" toward Mateu Lahoz's words. In the document, the Committee accused the former referee of trying to "generate hatred and discredit the group." They pointed out that Lahoz's statements linked refereeing achievements to extradeportive aspects, which are being judicially investigated.
The CTA took the opportunity to remind that Mateu Lahoz pursued his career in the same era he referred to, with the results everyone knows. The Committee asked him to take the information to Justice instead of continuing to fuel the debate with "diexcelledst and malicious" statements.
Cristóbal Soria Reveals Unknown Details
As the controversy grew, Cristóbal Soria appeared on "El Chiringuito" to give his version of the matter. According to Soria, Mateu Lahoz not only had problems with the CTA, but in reality, he was invited to stop refereeing by his own colleagues. Soria did not hesitate to point out that Lahoz's departure from refereeing was not merely a personal decision, but there were deeper reasons behind his retirement.
The commentator explained that, although Lahoz was media-savvy, his attitude and relationships within the Committee were not good. According to Soria, internal tensions within refereeing led to him being asked to leave his career.