Mexican referee loses his cool as he KNEES a player in the groin after being hounded during Liga MX clash… with the official now ‘facing a 15-MATCH BAN if found guilty of violent conduct by league chiefs’
- Fernando Hernandez seemed to knee Lucas Romero after a demand to use VAR
- The Mexican Football Federation confirmed an investigation has been launched
- Romero has called for the Hernandez to avoid punishment for the incident
An investigation has been launched by the Mexican Football Federation after referee Fernando Hernandez appeared to knee a Leon player in the groin during a league match on Sunday.
Midfielder Lucas Romero and his Leon team-mates had appealed to the referee to demand a VAR review, after Club America had scored an equaliser in their Liga MX match.
Hernandez, who had booked Romero’s team-mate, appeared to raise his knee into the midfielder’s groin after being confronted by the player.
The action led to Romero falling to the ground.
The Mexican Football Federation released a statement following the match confirming an investigation had been launched.
Referee Fernando Hernandez appeared to knee Leon player Lucas Romero in the groin
The contact was enough to force the Argentine midfielder to fall to the ground in pain
‘The Referees Commission informs that an investigation process will be opened into the events that occurred with the referee Fernando Hernández in the América vs. León [match], corresponding to Matchday 13 of the Liga MX,’ a statement read.
‘The resolution will be released to public opinion.’
Should Hernandez be found guilty of an offence, he reportedly could face a fine and a supsension of betwee one to 15 matches under Liga MX rules.
Romero has called for the offical to avoid punishment, with Hernandez having told him the incident was ‘unintentional’.
‘Obviously [referees] are human beings, many times they can make mistakes and those mistakes end up developing what happened, a lot of misunderstandings,’ Romero told Mexican broadcaster TUDN.
‘I’m not asking for anything [any form of punishment], he told me it was unintentional.
‘But just that they also respect us as we respect them on the pitch because they are the authority.’
The match ended in a 2-2 draw with Leon scoring a last minute equaliser through Joel Campbell.
The result keeps Leon third in the table, one point clear of fourth placed Club America.