'Useless' World Cup referee Lahoz to be reunited with Barca's Dutch stars for derby

Lahoz has been handed a derby as Barcelona take on city rivals Espanyol when LaLiga gets back underway with a famously high-profile and intense clash.

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And big games are nothing new for the Spanish official, whose last match quickly spiralled out of control in Qatar.

Lahoz last took charge in the quarter-finals of the World Cup for Argentina's shoot-out win over the Netherlands, which was remembered as one of the games of the tournament.

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The Dutch staged a stunning late comeback when it looked like Argentina were cruising at 2-0 up, with former Burnley man Wout Weghorst then bagging a jaw-dropping brace.

The match saw a number of flashpoints and fights, though, with Lahoz dealing out a whopping 19 yellow cards, including two for Inter Milan right back Denzel Dumfries - a record for a World Cup match.

The Dutch were left fuming at Lahoz who only gave Leandro Paredes a yellow card for booting a ball at their bench from point-blank range, sparking a melee on field.

Argentina were also critical too, with Lionel Messi saying the official 'wasn't up to it' post-match, with his teammates particularly irked by intimidation from the Netherlands during the shoot-out.

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And for two players from the out-of-control quarter, their first game back in action will be again officiated by Lahoz.

Dutch duo Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay will be lining up for Barcelona in the derby, and the former has already been particularly critical about the ref.

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Speaking after being knocked out, De Jong said: "As soon as regular time was over, they all went to him [Lahoz].

"From then on he only whistled for Argentina. [Jurrien] Timber's shoe was kicked off, but he let play continue and gave them a free kick.

"Luuk [de Jong] won a normal headed duel, for which he blew his whistle. They shot a ball into our dugout and he didn't give a damn. Messi takes the ball with his hand and he lets it go.

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"It was outrageous. I know him. He is a good guy, normally a good referee, but what he showed in extra-time was outrageous. He was beyond reason."

As a measure of Lahoz's performance, players from Argentina were similarly critical.

"I don't want to speak about referees because after they will sanction you," Messi said. "But people saw what happened.

"I think FIFA must take care of this, it cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task."

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Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez added: "We went 2-0 up, we basically controlled the game and the referee was giving everything to them.

"All of a sudden they got a good header, a good flick, which I couldn't see and then it turned upside-down.

"The ref was giving everything to them. He gave ten minutes [added time] for no reason. Ten minutes!

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"He was giving free-kicks outside the box for them two or three times - he just wanted them to score, that's basically it.

"So hopefully we don't have that referee anymore, because he's useless."