The Contentious Administrative Court number 4 of Madrid has upheld the appeal of the player Sergio Canales against the four-match ban he received last season, when he played for Betis, for saying that his expulsion against Cádiz in the League was premeditated by the of referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
The disciplinary bodies of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) sanctioned Canales with 4 matches and a fine of 601 euros in March of this year after stating, at the end of the match with Valladolid, on February 18, that former referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz He had been premeditatedly sent off in the clash against Cádiz played in October. The sentence to which EFE had access, understands that the principles of typicality, guilt and presumption of innocence of Sergio Canales have been violated, motivated by an error of expression and interpretation in the player's statements. After this ruling, Canales will be able to compete with his current club, Rayados de Monterrey in Mexico, in the next Clausura 2024 championship without any type of sanction.
The player went to the ordinary courts after his appeals were not considered and obtained a precautionary suspension of his punishment when he had already served one of the sanction matches. Canales maintained that his behavior “always with the referees on and off the field has been exemplary, showing them maximum respect throughout my professional career.” Canales thanked Betis, his representation agency and lawyers “who have fought” for him “to the last consequences.”
The Competition Committee sanctioned Canales on March 29. The then Betic captain then appealed to the Appeals Committee and based his appeal on the fact that he did not utter the word “premeditated”, but instead said an “unintelligible” term and that “what he intended to say was that he had been sanctioned in a hasty manner (both cards were very fast and I didn't have time to talk to him), considering that stating that the referee was hasty would fall within the limits of freedom of expression”, something that was proven with videos of statements made in subsequent days.
The appeal rejected these arguments, due to the dissemination of Canales' statements in a media outlet, because the complaint sent by the RFEF security director who originated the file transcribes the term “premeditated” and is the basis for considering them as a serious infraction. according to article 106. Subsequently, the player went to the TAD and requested the precautionary suspension of the sanction that was denied, so he transferred the case to the ordinary justice system, which has resolved in his favor.
Mateu Lahoz's reaction
Former referee Mateu Lahoz, for his part, declared this Wednesday in Gran Canaria that he has “a clear conscience”, after hearing the sentence. He maintains that the expulsion of the Cantabrian player was not premeditated and that it was due to two protests “that made no sense”, both during the extension of the aforementioned clash. ”I am glad that they were able to access the audios and resolve the situation. It is good that you can listen to the referees and that there is more transparency, there is nothing to hide,” he said.
”If they have now agreed with (Canales), it is that today we cannot restrict people's freedom of expression. In this case, he could think it was premeditated, but he doesn't disrespect me because I have a super-clear conscience. They were two protests that made no sense, I could have been more patient considering it was the 97th minute, but that's what I thought about that type of play,” he noted. The referee defends that after the first yellow card shown to the Cantabrian player, “nine or ten seconds passed and there are three times when I tell him to stop.”
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Justice #agrees #Sergio #Canales #sanction #statements #Mateu #Lahoz