One of the major talking about Ghana’s goalless draw fixture against Nigeria at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi last night has been a penalty decision the center referee reversed after VAR review.
Ghana midfielder Baba Iddrisu touched the ball with his hand in his own eighteen yard box from an Oghenekaro Etebo’s effort around the 76th minute of the cagey encounter.
Moroccan referee Redouane Jiyad initially whistled for a penalty against Ghana but after consulting the VAR, the referee had to reversed his decision after finding out that Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho fouled the Ghanaian midfielder prior to him touching the ball with his hand.
The aftermath of the game comes with some Nigerian supporters claiming the referee was biased and unjust with that decision, calling on the appropriate bodies to intervene.
But speaking after the game, the President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick stated that the referee was spot on as Kelechi Iheanacho truly fouled Baba Iddrisu prior to the penalty incident.
“I think the referee was correct. The Nigerian player [Kelechi Iheanacho] pushed Baba Iddrisu and that made him touched the ball .We have no problem with officiating, I know we should and will win convincingly at home. Our team is the better but we were unfortunate today”, he said.
Ghana will be traveling with a chartered flight to Abuja for the second leg fixture of the World Cup playoff at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.