Ghana head coach Otto Addo has, late on Thursday, taken aim at the team of officials who oversaw his side’s meeting with Portugal.
For those not aware, the Black Stars kicked their World Cup campaign into gear earlier today, facing off with the might of Fernando Santos’ Portuguese outfit.
After a tense opening hour which saw the two sides locked in a stalemate in Doha, the clash exploded into life late on, ultimately culminating in Portugal emerging on the right side of a 3-2 scoreline.
The Europeans’ eventual triumph, though, was kicked into gear in altogether controversial circumstances.
This came upon Cristiano Ronaldo going to ground in the Ghana penalty area, handing the free agent hitman the opportunity to open the evening’s scoring from the spot.
And Ronaldo, for his part, went on to make no mistake, sending Lawrence Ati-Zigi the wrong way to set Portugal on their way to an important three points.
This came amid widespread suggestions that the veteran hitman was in fact not fouled by Mohammed Salisu, with Ghana therefore extremely hard done-by to have seen a penalty awarded against them.
Ronaldo can dive better than Dolphins and Scuba Divers ey!!
What a shame.🤡 pic.twitter.com/Vqkn0f0KW9— zoosk. (@mytarchives) November 24, 2022
And one individual who was not at all shy in voicing his agreement with such a viewpoint is Ghana manager Otto Addo.
Speaking to the media on Thursday evening, the Black Stars’ headmaster was asked for his take on the penalty drama.
And Addo went on to explain:
‘When they score the goal, the game changed. I think it was a really wrong decision. We play the ball and sure there was contact afterwards.’
Pressed on whether Ronaldo’s superstar status may have played a role in the call, the tactician continued:
‘You have to ask the referee, I have no proof of that but we were playing the ball and then there was a contact.
‘If somebody scores a goal congratulations but it was really a goal. A special gift from the referee.’
Addo concluded by labelling the situation as ‘unbelievable’:
‘I don’t know whether they weren’t paying attention, whether the VAR wasn’t paying attention. If you look back at the scene, it is unbelievable. We were playing the ball, it was a foul against us!’
Ghana boss Otto Addo claims his side were robbed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in Portugal clash | @DominicKing_DM https://t.co/9xblcyONan
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) November 24, 2022
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