Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo has described the penalty awarded to Portugal against Ghana as a gifted one.
Ghana lost its opening match at the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup to Portugal by 3-2.
Moroccan-born American referee Ismail Elfath awarded Portugal a controversial penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo went ahead to score after Mohammed Salisu fouled him in the penalty area.
Andre Dede Ayew and Osman Bukari scored for Ghana whiles goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Joa Felix and Rafeal Leo empowered the former European champions to their first win in the competition.
Speaking at the post-match conference Otto Addo said the American referee Ismail Elfath had his decision wrong with the penalty and fumed about how he refused to seek the assistance of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
“I think it was a really wrong decision, we were playing the ball…I don’t know why VAR did not come up, there was no explanation for it. It was a wrong decision. It was actually a foul against us.
“If somebody scores a goal, congratulations. But this was a gift, really a gift,” the Ghanaian coach expressed his uttermost disappointment.
According to the trainer, he tried to confront the American referee to question him about some of his decisions during the game however it proved futile.
“I wanted to do it in a calm way, but I was told he was in a meeting. He was not in our favour. We got a few yellow cards which were deserved but there was also holding of jerseys and stopping counterattacks that were also yellow cards but not given to them.”
