A Mexican referee has been sacked from his role after failing to turn up to officiate a match amid reports he had sustained injuries after being assaulted by a s3x worker he had hired.
Referee Rosario Guadalupe Cardenas had been appointed to serve as the fourth official in a match between Monterrey and Tigres in the Apertura Tournament on October 19.
Mexico’s refereeing commission announced on the day of the match that Cardenas had been replaced due to a ‘medical reason’.
Cardenas was replaced in the role by Ismael Lopez, with Ximena Marquez Ruíz installed as the VAR official.
The organisation launched an internal investigation two days later, stating it would ‘clarify all the details related to this incident’.
Former Mexican referee Francisco Chacon later stated that Cardenas, 27, had failed to attend the match due to injuries sustained after being attacked by a sex worker he had hired.
‘It turns out that Mr. Rosario Cardenas decided to hire a companion one day before the game,’ said Chacon, who officiated international matches between 2009 and 2017.
‘He took her to his hotel where he was staying, and there he was drugged and assaulted, which is why he did not make it to his game.
‘That was the “medical reason”’.
The Mexican refereeing commission confirmed Cardenas’ sacking on December 4 following the internal investigation.
The organisation did not provide further details about the circumstances but deemed his conduct worthy of dismissal.
