Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr title clash ‘will be refereed by Lionel Messi nemesis Mateu Lahoz’

Al-Nassr’s leading of the desk clash towards Al-Ittihad on Thursday will reportedly be officiated by controversial Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz.

Whistle-happy ref Lahoz has been officiating LaLiga matches considering that 2008 and is known for not becoming fearful to reach into his pocket and brandish cards for the slightest infringements.

Getting refereed some of football’s most significant matches, the Saudi Professional League have decided to appoint the Spaniard for the superclassico clash between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, according to AS.

And the 48-calendar year-previous will be a common facial area to Ronaldo, supplied how he would have taken demand of lots of True Madrid games when the Portuguese star was at the club between 2009 and 2018.

There are even reports in Spain that Ronaldo and Lahoz are ‘friends’ and that the formal has confronted accusations of currently being biased to Ronaldo’s previous club, True Madrid, but these claims are unfounded.

Controversial ref Mateu Lahoz (suitable) is reportedly established to acquire cost of Cristiano Ronaldo’s (remaining) greatest Al-Nassr video game to day on Thursday, when they confront title rivals Al-Ittihad

Ronaldo (remaining) knows LaLiga referee Lahoz (appropriate) properly from his time as a Real Madrid participant

Ronaldo fist-bumps Lahoz (left) ahead of Portugal’s Euro 2020 clash with France in Hungary

There are just two details in between league leaders Al-Nassr and 2nd-location Al-Ittihad going into Thursday’s clash, in what will be Ronaldo’s most important sport because shifting to the Gulf point out.

Lahoz is much more just lately known for creating uproar at the Qatar Entire world Cup in December, where he brandished a history-breaking 18 yellow playing cards during Argentina’s quarter-remaining clash with the Netherlands.

Of the 18 yellows, he handed out 8 to Argentine players and yet another eight to Dutch footballers before scheduling Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni and mentor Walter Samuel.

The Netherlands’ Denzel Dumfries was the only person to acquire two yellow cards and subsequently a pink times immediately after Lautaro Martinez scored the successful place-kick in the penalty shootout. 

His effectiveness drew ire and was intensely criticised by Argentina’s captain and talisman, Lionel Messi, pursuing the match.

Messi said: ‘I really don’t want to converse about referees because right after they will sanction you. But people observed what transpired.’

Messi extra: ‘I assume FIFA need to get treatment of this, it can’t put a referee like that for a match of this kind of magnitude, of these kinds of importance. The referee cannot fall short to be up to the activity.’

It proved to be Lahoz’s ultimate video game at the Globe Cup and was despatched dwelling. 

Lionel Messi was enraged by Lahoz’s efficiency in the Planet Cup quarter-final

Lahoz brought about uproar in Qatar just after dishing out a file 18 yellows in that feisty clash 

It didn’t acquire the Spaniard long to get back to his cause-delighted means of officiating, provided how he handed out another 15 yellows and two reds in Barcelona’s 1-1 derby draw with Espanyol back in January – his 1st game soon after that quarter-remaining.

It will not be Lahoz’s first time in using demand of Saudi Professional League game titles, offered he took cost of a recreation in the two the 2018-19 and 2019-20 strategies.

In those people two matches, he confirmed a overall of 8 yellows and 3 reds – two of which ended up immediate sending offs.  

Lahoz announced in January that he strategies to retire from officiating at the finish of the time.