Spanish referee Antonio Matu Raios infuriated Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi during a heated showdown in the World Cup quarterfinals in Qatar by showing 18 yellow cards in one fell swoop, leading to his early exit from the tournament. However, the referee has once again sparked controversy on his return to La Liga action. In Barcelona's match against Espanyol, Raouls set his own record by showing 15 yellow cards in a single match. Even more smacking was the fact that three players were shown red cards in just three minutes, one of which was later canceled.
Looking back at the Qatar World Cup one-eighth final between Argentina and the Netherlands, Raouls was in the spotlight. From the 31st minute of the first half when he showed a yellow card to Samuel, a member of Argentina's coaching staff, he handed out yellow cards all the way to extra time and penalties, totaling 18, breaking the World Cup record for most yellow cards in a single game of 16. Messi was very unhappy with Laos' decision, criticizing him as simply incompetent for such a big game.
FIFA then decided to let Raouls leave early, but his return to La Liga soon sparked another controversy. In the match between Barcelona and Espanyol, Raouls once again lost control of the game, showing 15 yellow cards and at one point even three red cards in three minutes. Spaniard captain Cabrera was initially shown a red card for a foul on Barcelona's Levan, but Raos canceled the red card decision after reviewing the VAR.
Raos showed four yellow cards in the first half and Levan was fouled by Cabrera in the 74th minute of the second half, sparking anger among the Barcelona players. Apart from the clashes between the players of both sides, they also expressed their dissatisfaction with the penalties awarded by Layos. Spaniard's Sosa, Eksposito, Barca veteran Alba, youngsters Torres and Pedri all received yellow cards.
Alba expressed his displeasure with the yellow card he received and argued with Llaois, then received another yellow card and was sent off after two yellows turned into one red. Spaniard's Sousa suffered the same fate and both were sent off in a chaotic scene. In the end, the two teams drew 1-1.
Barcelona boss Xavi lambasted adjudicator Raios after the game for becoming a dominant player, "He controlled the game, showed a lot of meaningless yellow cards and let the game get completely out of hand."
