An investigation has been launched after a referee appeared to knee a player in the groin during a top-flight game in Mexico.
Match official Fernando Hernandez was caught by television cameras kneeing Leon midfielder Lucas Romero in the groin as the player angrily demanded a VAR review following an America goal in Saturday’s Liga MX clash.
The Referees Commission of the Mexico's football federation (FMF) said the results of the investigation would be made public when it is concluded.
Despite local media condemning the action, Romero did not call for Hernandez to be punished and said that it was a misunderstanding.
"Obviously (referees) are human beings, many times they can make mistakes and those mistakes end up developing what happened, a lot of misunderstandings," the Argentine told Mexican broadcaster TUDN.
"I'm not asking for anything (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 said that the action by the referee was 'unacceptable'.
"The referee kneed the Leon player, this could cost Fernando Hernandez his career... how do you explain this aggression of the referee?" he wrote on Twitter.
He added that the president of the refereeing commission and its director of instruction will have to provide a "good explanation".
