Referee incredibly knees footballer in the nuts after losing his cool in a big way

If you thought refereeing in England was bad think again, as a Mexican official has shockingly been caught putting his knee into the groin of a player who was arguing with him

Posted Monday, April 03, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Referee incredibly knees footballer in the nuts after losing his cool in a big way
Ref Fernando Hernandez looked to have lost his head during Club America vs Leon (Image: Twitter/@ramosrizo)

A referee in Mexico is under investigation after appearing to knee a player in the groin during a match.

Official Fernando Hernandez was caught on camera moving his left knee in the direction of Leon midfielder Lucas Romero during their Liga MX clash with Club America on Saturday (April 1). Romero and his team-mates were angrily protesting a decision at the time.

He crumbled to the floor after the supposed contact, but said after the 2-2 draw he didn't want to see Hernandez punished. “Obviously [referees] are human beings, many times they can make mistakes and those mistakes end up developing what happened, a lot of misunderstandings," he told broadcaster TUDN.

"I’m not asking for anything, 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."

Mexico’s football federation have launched an investigation into the incident, meaning Romero's pleas could fall on deaf ears.

Hernandez, who's also been criticised for a string of mistakes this season, has been warned he could lose his job by former referee Felipe Ramos Rizo.

He labelled his actions "unacceptable", tweeting: "Knee from the referee to the Leon player, this could cost Fernando Hernandez his career. How do you explain this aggression from the referee?"

The match, meanwhile, was an action-packed encounter. America turned the game on its head after Leon had taken the lead, but the visitors netted a 94th minute equaliser to ensure it ended all square.

As well as Hernandez's rogue knee, the two managers got physical on the touchline. Leon's Nicolas Larcamon accused America's Fernando Ortiz of ripping his shirt and they had to be kept apart as they were escorted back to their respective dressing rooms.