Barcelona news: World Cup referee returns with a bang and dishes out 16 cards in derby | Football | Sport

Lahoz will face renewed criticism for his display, just weeks after he was sent home from the World Cup having lost control of Argentina’s clash with Holland. La Liga officiating will also come under the spotlight, with a shocking average of one red card per game this season. 

Former Barca striker Gary Lineker responded to a tweet about Lahoz’s display by joking: “When he blows, he blows.”

World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emi Martinez risked a ban at the tournament by slamming Lahoz as “useless”. He said after the win over Holland: “He was giving free kicks outside the box for them, like two or three times. He just wanted them to score, that’s basically it, so hopefully we don’t have that ref anymore. He’s useless.”