Otto Addo Apologizes For Criticizing Referee After Ghana-Portugal Match
Black Stars head coach Otto Addo, has rendered an Apology for criticizing referee Ismail Elfath after the match between Ghana and Portugal.
This comes after the Ghana Black Stars were defeated by Portugal (3-2) on Thursday after Ronaldo’s controversial penalty became the talk of the town and sparked massive reactions on social media.
Ghanaian football fans and supporters worldwide vented their displeasure on the USA referee for awarding Ronaldo a penalty to score Portugal’s opening goal against the Black Stars.
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Many people accused the referee of being a racist and dragged him on social media, claiming that the use of VAR may have prevented the Portuguese side from winning the match due to the Ghana squad’s outstanding performance.
During his post-match press conference, Black Stars head coach Otto Addo also accused the referee for his bad officiating by awarding Ronaldo a wrongful penalty, claiming that the Europeans had the referee’s support.
When speaking on referee’s decision Otto Addo said, “It was a wrong decision. It was actually a foul against us,”…. I wanted to do it in a calm way but I was told he was in a meeting. He was not in our favour. “The referee gave a penalty which was not a penalty. Everyone saw that. Why? Because it’s Ronaldo or something?” “If somebody scores a goal, congratulations. But this was really a gift. A special gift from the referee.”
However, speaking at a pre-match conference yesterday, Saturday November, 26, Otto Addo apologized for his comments, adding that he was hopeful that he would not receive any sanctions from FIFA.
“Up to this point we didn’t get any answer (from FIFA), maybe I can use this stage now to apologize If I was too rude but I was very emotional after the match. Hopefully, I won’t get a fine”.
SOURCE: www.hellovybes.com