AFCON: Ghanaian Man Shares His Views on Referee’s Decisions in Nigeria’s Defeat
- A Ghanaian football fan went viral after offering a candid analysis of Nigeria’s AFCON semi-final loss to Morocco
- He criticised referee Daniel Nii Laryea’s officiating, citing decisions he felt unfairly favoured the host nation
- Despite the criticism, he argued Nigeria’s penalty shootout failures, not refereeing, ultimately caused their exit
A Ghanaian football supporter has gone viral for his surprisingly candid analysis of Nigeria's heartbreaking loss to Morocco in the AFCON semi-final.
In a video spotted by Legit.ng, the man, wearing a Ghana national team jersey, put aside the famous Ghana-Nigeria rivalry to offer what he terms an 'honest opinion.'
Source: TikTok
He began by strongly criticising the performance of the match referee, fellow Ghanaian Daniel Nii Laryea, for what he perceived as biased decisions in favour of the host nation, Morocco.
In his words:
"The officiating was bad. Daniel Nii Laryea, the Ghanaian centre-line referee, was just wrong on the day on so many occasions."
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AFCON: Ghanaian shares Nigeria vs Morocco analysis
He pointed to a harsh yellow card against Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey and noted that Moroccan players consistently escaped bookings for similar or worse offences.
During the game, Bassey stuck an arm out as he looked to stop Brahim from getting pass the defences outside the penalty area and accidentally made him fall on his feet.
Source: Twitter
"It was not fair... everything was going in favour of Morocco," he said.
He added:
"There was a pre-foul before the foul. Calvin Bassey's jersey or shirt was being pulled by the Moroccan player. It was a 50/50 scuffle between these two players. How do you then go on to give one player a yellow card? I felt like it was too harsh."
However, in a twist that drew reactions, the Ghanaian man suggested that he does not believe the referee was to be blamed for Nigeria's total defeat. He shifted his criticism to the Super Eagles' performance during the decisive penalty shootout.
"Is that the reason Nigeria did not qualify for the finals? Because it's not," he stated firmly.
Watch the TikTok video below:
Reactions to Nigeria vs Morocco review
Legit.ng compiled reactions from netizens who watched the Ghanaian man's review on TikTok. Some of the comments are below.
Ademola said:
"God bless you for the honest truth."
Mpsolar1 wrote:
"Did Nigeria scored and referee disallowed? This is no excuse. Check Morocco heat maps."
ThirdEye stated:
"The coach should be held accountable for choosing these penalty takes . Does he mean he doesn't know which players are good in playing penalties , doesn't they play penalties in training?"
kofi Countryman commented:
"50-50 is decided by a referee. Your analysis doesn't hold."
BRAIN BENTIL wrote:
"Bro you dey lie. Just show a video that proves that the officiating was totally bad."
AFCON: Did bias affect Nigeria's semi-final loss?
Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian football fan accused match officials of bias after Nigeria lost the AFCON semi-final to Morocco on penalties.
He criticised referee Daniel Nii Laryea’s decisions, citing incidents he believed unfairly favoured the host nation.
The fan urged Nigeria to host a future AFCON, arguing home advantage was key to winning the tournament.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
