Liga MX Ref Fernando Hernandez Investigated for Appearing to Knee Player in Groin

The Mexican Football Federation and Referees Commission is investigating Liga MX referee Fernando Hernandez after television footage showed him kneeing Leon midfielder Lucas Romero in the groin during Saturday’s match against America, per Reuters (h/t ESPN).

Romero and his teammates were demanding a VAR check after a controversial America equalizing goal.

After the 2-2 draw, Romero told Mexican broadcaster TUDN that he thought the kneeing was an accident.

“Obviously [referees] are human beings, many times they can make mistakes and those mistakes end up developing what happened, a lot of misunderstandings,” he said. “I’m not asking for [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.”

Former referee Felipe Ramos Rizo, however, called the situation “unacceptable.”

“The referee kneed the Leon player. This could cost Fernando Hernandez his career,” he added in a translated tweet. “How do you explain this aggression of the referee?”

According to AS, Liga MX’s bylaws dictate that “any type of violent conduct with the players, members of the technical staff, officials, with the personnel authorized to remain on the pitch and/or with the public” results in a “one to 15 games suspension and a fine of 90 to 500 UMAs (10,000 to 52,000 pesos). In the event that the infraction is committed against match officials, the sanction may be increased.”

So if it is determined that Hernandez’s actions were intentional, he could be facing a substantial penalty.

It also was only one memorable moment from what turned into a wild 90 minutes of football.

As for the result, the draw kept León in third place on the table at 25 points, one ahead of fourth-place Club América. Monterrey is currently running away from the pack atop the Liga MX table, nine points clear of both Toluca and León.