Arsenal's crucial Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon will be officiated by one of football's controversial referees.
Antonio Mateu Lahoz will take the whistle at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night as the Gunners eye a spot in the quarter-finals.
The Spaniard, who has been refereeing in La Liga since 2008, is an experienced figure in football.
However, he was the source of controversy in Qatar at the World Cup and got on the wrong side of footballing legend Lionel Messi.
In Argentina's quarter-final win against the Netherlands, Lahoz handed out a monumental 18 yellow cards.
He was criticised for his performance on the global stage, with Messi saying: “I don’t want to speak about referees because after they will sanction you. 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.”
Lahoz was not named as the referee for any of the tournament's remaining games.
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He has officiated 21 games so far this season though, with 12 of those coming in La Liga.
It will be Lahoz's first appearance in the Europa League for the current campaign, although he is not short of experience in club European competition.
Arsenal were last refereed by the 46-year-old in 2013 when they faced Marseille in the Champions League group stage.
The Gunners won 2-0 on the night and will be hoping to be on the winning side under Lahoz once again.
Mikel Arteta's side are drawing 2-2 on aggregate with Sporting heading into Thursday's clash.
Victory in north London will send them to the last eight of the competition as the Premier League leaders look to continue their fine season.
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