A REFEREE in Mexico has been sacked after failing to turn up to match after allegedly being drugged.
Top flight ref Rosario Cardenas has not officiated a match since missing a fixture between Monterrey and Tigres in October.
Cardenas was set to be the fourth official for the clash but did not turn up – supposedly due to an incident that happened the night before.
He was suspended by the Mexican Referees Commission pending an investigation, which has now concluded after several weeks with his sacking.
A statement read: “In order to ensure transparency and compliance with the protocols, this Commission informs that, following the investigation, it has decided to terminate the contract of the referee Rosario Guadalupe Cárdenas for non-compliance with the Arbitration Rules.”
The Commission initially explained Cardenas absence from the match was down to “medical reasons”.
But former referee Francisco Chacon has since claimed Cardenas was absent due to his actions the night before.
He suggested Cardenas hired a woman to come round to his hotel room, and she subsequently drugged and assaulted the official.
Chacon said: “It turns out that Mr. Rosario Cardenas decided to hire a companion one day before the game.
“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’.”
Mexican newspaper Record reported the official had been found to have violated the ‘ethical and professional values’ of Mexican Football Federation, with a source stating an investigation remains ongoing into the reports Cardenas had been assaulted by a sex worker.
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