Former Super Eagles striker Julius Aghahowa has slammed the referee in charge of the Ghana vs Portugal World Cup game for awarding the latter a questionable penalty.
Portugal took the lead on 65 minutes from the penalty spot after Muhammed Salisu was adjudged to have fouled Cristiano Ronaldo.
Andre Ayew drew Ghana level but goals from Felix and Rafael Leao put Portugal 3-1 ahead.
But a minute to the end of the game substitute Osman Bukari pulled a goal back for Ghana which was not enough.
Also Read: 2022 World Cup: VAR Awarded Ronaldo A Soft Penalty -Addo
And commenting on the decision by the referee to award the penalty, Aghahowa posited that it is contestable.
“The penalty awarded to Portugal demoralized Ghana,” Aghahowa stated on Brila FM.
“The referee should have gone to the monitor to confirm that it was indeed a penalty. He didn’t and that affected the Ghanaians.
“The penalty is contestable. My problem with that is the ref didn’t even go to check.
“But thankfully they scored two goals and spiritedly went for the third and should motivate the team.”
And on Alidu Seidu who almost got himself sent off for reacting to a provocation from Joao Felix.
“Alidu Seidu’s action was uncalled for. He could have been sent off for that and his team will suffer for it. African players have to be disciplined at this level.”
25 Comments
It’s payback time Mr Aghahowa. Remember the ghana/south Africa ‘fraudulent penalty’saga?
I watched the game and I want to submit to Agahowa’s assertion. The penalty was questionable . Even the third goal scored by Portugal was an offside. Seems the VAR personnel and the referee were bias against Africa. The purpose for VAR introduction will continue to evade the football world until every team is allowed to have a VAR personnel when ever they are playing so that they can call the referee to order when this type of situations pop up
The referee and var men knows the truth but decided not to say it.
Can you remember Argentina Nigeria game in Russia . The referee went as far as checking the monitor but still insisted it was not a handball and he didn’t give Nigeria the penalty.
And nobody in fifa complained
Until African team walk out of fifa competition the European and American referee will continue to maltreat them
Look at the cancelled goal by the ref and var in Qatar Ecuador game.
Dey said it is off . See another Portugal goal even clearer. Offside var dey close eye .I watch falconet vs German girls. Dey scored a goal that was not a good goal var decided it a goal . referee just pointed to the center.
The var is becoming human factors to help the good child. I . Ronaldo in 2:
Qatar in 3 Germany.
The referee’s attitude was shameful… between him, VAR team who is supposed to request video checks? Must he be told by the VAR before he goes to check… if it is then refereeing decisions are being taken out of the hands of referees in my opinion. The VAR team to me also always never have fair composition to include Africans, nobody even grant Africans Visas freely to any other continent, the team of VAR always is a mix of Europians/South Americans/North Americans and any other race other than Africans… how on earth a penalty that clearly needed video confirmation, the referee had to point straight to the spot with video consultantation… Since the introduction of VAR, we have witnessed bizarre judgements against African teams since 2018 WC, Portugal vs Morocco, Argentina vs Nigeria and now this game between Portugal and Ghana. That penalty was too soft and the goal scored by Joao Felix appears as if he was already offside when the pass was played to him… Partly FIFA and VAR Teams always have a favored team in mind before kickoff of each game. It’s discouraging to see this kinds of judgements in modern day football… Ronaldo simulated that penalty and the toe of the Ghanaian player poked the ball before Renaldo… the fact penalties are awarding for this kinds of contact is even strange… If that contact had happened in middle section of the field, it will not even be a foul, Ronaldo ought to have been a yellow card for simulation and a foul against him. I also wondered why the player Joao Felix was not cautioned even though he went to the Ghanaian player to provoke him by touching his forehead on the Ghanaian player’s head… It is just exactly the way Greece player provoked Sani Kaita in 2010. Why can’t referees sanction players who provoked others needlessly and only wait for the player provoked to make a move… World cup officiating is becoming increasingly biased in favour of the popular soccer nations. What a shame! The sad part is that CAF will never lodge a complain to FIFA year after year because we have seen this poor officiating nonsense against Africans from a long time ago… Italia ’90 England had to be awarded to dubious penalties in a game under 90 minutes for England to level up and go ahead and defeat a stubborn and difficult Cameroonian side nobody wanted to meet…
Baseless…..baseless accusations as usual.
How many African refs have been trained on the use of VAR….? How many African countries even use VAR to start with.? Apart from North Africa, there is not other part of Africa where VAR is in active use. That is why fifa and caf had to rely on North Africa and European VAR officials at the last AFCON and the WCQ playoffs….but they want FIFA to pick African refs (Black skin coloured in reference) because selection of VAR refs selection is a christmas gift….LMAOoo.
Every problems always have to do with skin colour…..LMAOoo….including the ones they brought on themselves.
Im still wondering which one of England’s penalties vs Cameroon at italia 90
was dubious.
That is to show you for how long our own failings have been hurting us…..yet year after year, we keep making the same mistakes. Black brained people…..they just never learn.
When we tell them to apply Modern Technology in tackling these fundamental problems they will go around stuck puffing, stuck in their archaism…..LMAOoo.
Someone else just has to take the blame for their failures.
Your ehn. That you don’t agree with someone over one thing shouldn’t make the person your serial enemy. Ghana was robbed yesterday…and that is a fact, a lot of international media wrote about it as well. Do European teams also sometimes suffer similar feat against African teams….? NO. If CAF doesn’t speak up about these things, we won’t really measure up to them, even when we have the matching resources. Is Africa still languishing and not learning at the same pace as the rest of the world? Yes….which makes your point on the use of African VARs relevant. However, you can’t because of that close your eyes when people are being robbed.
If there any country the ref should favor in that game should have been Ghana. He was an American immigrant from Morocco. However, the problem is in our own star but in ourselves.
Argentina had 3 goals against Saudi Arabia ruled out for offside. Is Argentina not a big nation?
VAR against Ghana? No. Did Ghana score any goal and was disallowed? No. Did they get ‘slight” touches in Portuguese penalty box and were waved away? No.
No VAR is against anyone. Goals are scored when the opposition makes mistakes.
Ghana made theirs and were punished. Just as Portuguese goalie almost cost them in the last minute.
Lesson to be learnt: take your chances. Sad no west African teams took even a point unlike the North Africanns
Did VAR review those Argentina goals and ruled them offside? That’s exactly what everyone is calling for, the VAR to review the incident. Even Louis Figo has admitted it wasn’t a penalty and not only him, other prominent football pundits and referees have said same
Sensible piece! Did you said VAR ruled them off? Where was that same VAR when the ref was messing up?
I’ve warned before and I will continue to Warning….we will continue to make these same mistakes and get punished. Then we will cry fool because the decision as gone against us.
Anybody who says that wasn’t a penalty is just being sentimental and economical with the truth.
That was how we cried when Algeria B was awarded a penalty under similar circumstances….but when it favoured us in the friendly vs Portugal and vs USA I the U17 womens world cup, we all kept mum.
I don’t care about whether it’s a soft or a hard penalty…..actually, nobody does….not even the ref or the var officials. The question is, was it in the box….? Yes. Did CR7 touch the ball first….? Yes. Did Salisu make contact with CR7 without first making contact with the ball….? Yes. If it were outside the box would a freekick have been awarded….? Yes.
If sọ…..why isn’t then a penalty….?
This is not the 1970s where a tackle in the box needs to send a player to the ICU before a penalty gets awarded.
Our defenders should learn the Art of Jockeying ie guiding the attacker towards the corner of the box where he would be able to take any shots rather than putting a leg across in a 50:50 penalty box situation to try to steal the ball off the attackers feel. 80% of the times it will end up being a penalty.
Little details….Little details like these are what we fail to arm ourselves with.
Then we come crying like lost kids because of rule we see every weekend been implemented in football all over the world hasn’t gone in our favor.
I can bet another knucklehead African defender will still repeat this nonsense before they all leave this world cup.
My brother Dre, you are completely wrong. Salisu touched the ball first. There are close up videos everywhere, pls check before making these statements
Hehehehe video evidence does not lie
https://youtu.be/Z2XF5DEmJGU
Scroll of 0:15 and tell us another lie that Salisu touched the ball first.
Even the trajectory of the ball after contact showed the ball was first touched by Ronaldo.
And someone say the referee who was a few meters away from the scene, with a perfect view of the scenario couldnt have seen who touched the ball first….LMAOoo…and MUST go to check the replay first before making his decision….as if there’s a rule that States so.
The ref just canceled a goal scored by Iran against Wales without going to check the replay….he too must be a bad ref….LMAOoo.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not earn the penalty vs Ghana feels Portugal legend Luis Figo. Speaking to the official broadcaster in India, Figo said that Ronaldo should not have been awarded the spot kick against Ghana which broke the deadlock between the two teams. I don’t think it was a penalty but I welcome it,” the former Portugal star said. These are the words of Luis Figo
I guess Luis Figo is now a referee.
Luis Figo knows the game more than the referee…
Let’s be honest about what is reality…
A lot of Nigerians are still angry Ghana went to Qatar instead of us Nigeria…
We can see they clearly deserve to go… We don’t have the caliber of midfielders Ghana have at the moment… Small boy Kudus playing like a Lion.
Clubs like Ajax know a player when they see one and knick him.
Hahahaha….Luis Figo knows refereeing more than referees indeed….LMAOOO.
I guess he also knows how to watch video replays more the VAR officials too…..LMAOoo.
Bitterness has engulfed your heart, it has clouted your judgement. It is so bad, man
Thank you very much. Bitterness may clout my judgement, but it cannot alter video evidence…LMAOoo
And ye shall know/speak the truth….and the truth shall set yee free
It was a clear penalty. If it happened in Portugal’s 18 yard box, even you would have called for a penalty, and if it is not awarded, you will cry blue murder. The referee didn’t need to check the VAR. Sentiment apart, I don’t care what any other person says, but it was a clear penalty.
And just as sentimental and dishonest as it gets, Inaki Williams lashed out at a portugese player in centre circle in the 2nd half in a clearly ‘red-cardable’ offense…..that incidence seems not to have even ever registered in their brain……LMAOoo.
Of course, this one was in their favour
…LMAOoo
@Dr.Drey… even if the penalty will be awarded, can’t the referee go to VAR monitor atleast? The way the incident happened and from where the referee was standing and observing, there is no way on this planet earth that he could have been so sure of a penalty 100% and pointed straight to the spot like he had a inferno come off inside his rectum… Bro, forget… that thing no be penalty. Penaldo doing what he does best… simulation & Cheating, if it had been in Ghana’s favour you would have seen VAR and referee suddenly go for checks with VAR and upturn it against Ghana. The world cup is just starting and you and I will be here to comment on inconsistent officiating. We dey here… I greet you!
There were questions about the officiating of the Wales vs USA game, there were questions about the officiating of the Belgium vs Canada game, there will always be questions about officiating in every football tournament. Refereeing inconsistencies will always be presnt in football.
But don’t come here spreading skin colour steroetypes and fallacies about FIFA conspiring against the entire black race.
Not every problem in the world is commutative of skin colours.
When a team scores as Ghana did, they enter into a new momentum, most often times go on to score more; Nigeria against Brazil at the Olympics a case in point.
You quench that new momentum when you make immediate substitution. That sudden substitutions of Kudus n Dede was the reason Ghana lost that game yesterday for they were looking very much likely to win after they scored, especially with the Portuguese team getting tired as has been the case with other teams during second half, probably due to Qatar weather condition.
We should not put any blame on the penalty, which to me was legitimate based on FIFA new silly rules. Ronaldo was only smart as well as used his experience to muster such taking advantage of all these bizzare FIFA new rules in football.
See the reason we need goalscoring midfielders? That Iran’s 1st goal sha…