Black Stars Head Coach, Otto Addo, has bemoaned a Cristiano Ronaldo converted spot kick created by same player against Ghana’s opener with Portugal Thursday.
The coach who sees the referee’s decision as an error says he was denied the opportunity to speak to him when the incident occurred.
At a post match engagement with the media, Otto Addo said the referee’s error was visible to the blind and loud to the deaf but was overlooked by all the officials.
According to him, he was told the referee was having a meeting when he requested to speak to him.
“The referee awarded a penalty that was not a penalty. Everyone saw it. I asked if I could speak to the ref and was told he is in a meeting and it’s not possible,” he complained bitterly.
Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name into the history books as the first player to score in five World Cups during Portugal’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Ghana on Thursday evening at Qatar 2022.
The 37-year-old’s thumping 61st-minute penalty put Fernando Santos’s side ahead in the Group H encounter at Stadium 974 in Doha, with the star striker keen to showcase his talents to potential new clubs following an acrimonious split this week with English club Manchester United.
But Portugal’s advantage did not last long with Ghana captain Andre Ayew drawing his side level in the 73rd minute.
Ayew’s strike marked the first goal by an African side at this year’s tournament and was joyously celebrated by the Black Stars’ raucous fans, who saw their team fail to take a single shot during a blunt attacking display in the first 45 minutes.
Unfortunately for them, the jubilant scenes appeared to provoke Portugal into switching on the afterburners, with Joao Felix and Rafael Leao netting twice in the following seven minutes to make it 3-1 at the 80-minute mark.
Any hopes they had of a comfortable stroll to victory, however, were undermined by Osman Bukari, who converted to make it 3-2 in the 89th minute.
Source: Onuaonline.com|Ghana
