Mexican Referee Fight: A referee was handed a twelve-match ban in Liga MX for kneeing a player in the groin. The whole incident happened on Saturday night when the Mexican League’s game between America and Leon was tied at 2-2. Now, the crazy thing started when Diego Valdes scored an equaliser for America. The away side wasn’t happy with the goal and they demanded a VAR review. Follow Football LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Lucas Romero (Leon) got particularly close to Hernandez during the brawl that followed, which prompted the referee to rudely knee the midfielder in the groin.
This referee in Mexico knee’d a player in the middle of a brawl 😳 pic.twitter.com/jek1Wzh4tm
— GOAL (@goal) April 4, 2023
When the VAR call was demanded, the review was undertaken that led to Hernandez being punished with a suspension of 12 matches. Leon’s Romero has also been given a two-match ban.
Despite Romero defending Hernandez after this game, he was handed this ban by Mexico’s top flight. He spoke to Mexican broadcaster TUDN and shared his defense: “Obviously (referees) are human beings, many times they can make mistakes and those mistakes end up developing what happened, a lot of misunderstandings.”
Hernandez showed his character by offering an apology with a statement that reads, “To the fans and public in general, I offer an apology, as well as to Romero, for my reaction. I would never attack him or any other player. I am aware of this and I will abide by the decision of the Disciplinary Commission.”
We have seen such stories in past but the 12-match ban is a big thing and we believe it’s the biggest punishment by the Mexican league. America will now play league-leaders Monterrey on Saturday night at home, and Leon will face Cruz Azul.