“I’m the only one responsible” - Referee Mateu Lahoz accepts blame for ‘mistake’ which cost Lionel Messi and Barcelona league title

Former referee Mateu Lahoz has opened up about committing an error that forced Barcelona to lose out on the 2013-14 LaLiga title, as per BarcaBlaugranes. Lahoz took charge of the now-infamous game between Barca and Atletico Madrid, disallowing a goal scored by Lionel Messi owing to what he thought was offside.

The ball had come to Messi from a Juanfran Torres pass rather than Cesc Fabregas, forcing the referee to blow his whistle and declare it as offside. Now, Lahoz has opened up about the fact that he considers it to be a mistake, maintaining that the goal should have stood, as it was not offside.

"I made a mistake. There was a play that we were able to see later that Juanfran didn’t touch, but from my position, it was impossible to tell if Cesc touched it. I would have bet my 20 fingers that Cesc had touched that ball. That play was about team synergy and I’m the only one responsible," said Lahoz.

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Barcelona lost the 2013-14 LaLiga title on the final matchday

Barca and Atletico came into that game - the last of the campaign - occupying the top two spots of the league table but separated by three points. Hence, both teams could have won the title at the end of the match, making it the first time since 1951 that the Spanish title was to be decided head-to-head on the final weekend.

Atletico lost attackers Diego Costa and Arda Turan within the first 30 minutes of the game, giving home team Barcelona an advantage. Alexis Sanchez then scored ahead of the half-time break thanks to a pass from Lionel Messi. However, Atletico equalized in the 49th minute thanks to a Diego Godin header.

Soon afterwards, Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets found it hard to carry on and was subbed off. In the 64th minute, the controversial offside incident happened, in which Messi scored, only for referee Mahoz to say that it would not stand. The game ended as a 1-1 draw, handing Atletico their first La Liga title in 18 years.

Barcelona recovered well from the shock of losing the league title on the final matchday by winning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 titles. Currently, they are on top of the league standings with 60 points to their name, but are closely shadowed by their arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are second with the same number of points.

Lionel Messi and Busquets currently ply their trade for Inter Miami in the MLS, but Barcelona is in safe hands. Youngsters such as Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Dani Olmo, along with the experienced Robert Lewandowski, have held the fort well at Barcelona despite Messi's absence.