A Ghanaian social media commentator, Bongo Ideas, has sparked fresh debate after criticising the referee who officiated the tense match between Nigeria and host nation Morocco.
The centre referee, Daniel Laryea, came under heavy scrutiny following the just concluded encounter, which ended Nigeria’s campaign and favoured the host country.
Claims of biased officiating
In a Facebook post that quickly gained attention, Bongo Ideas alleged that Daniel Laryea’s performance appeared influenced before the match even began.
He wrote:
“— gave cheap fouls to Morocco
— gave Nigerian players (Calvin Bassey) unnecessary yellow
— never gave Morocco players a yellow
— didn’t allow the game to freely flow
— was under immense pressure
— penalty or not Daniel Laryea had a 4/10 game
— AFCON is rigged for host nations to win!
I’m a Ghanaian and also a Ga buh let’s call a spade a spade…that performance from Daniel Laryea felt and looked like he was told what to do on the field before he stepped out. He let Ghana down!”
Nigerians react online
The post generated widespread reactions, with many Nigerians sharing mixed views on the referee’s conduct and the match outcome.
Gold wrote: “I’m a Nigerian but It’s football and the host Nation deserves to get to the finals, Morocco has invested a lot, if it’s easy to be a Host Nation Other African Countries should step and do better.
“Did you see world class stadiums they have?. I don’t know how CAF managed to buy the ref or however it was done, kudos to Morocco they fought hard.”
Rahman wrote: “They should never blame the referee for any reason… Playing 90min + Injury time + 30min extra time with only 2 shots on target…. Do they want the Referee to play the penalty for them?…👆😂😂😂”
More divided opinions
Other commenters dismissed claims of bias and urged Nigerians to accept the result.
BestBoi wrote: “Masa no blame referee, Make Nigeria accept defeat and move on 😂😂😂”
Agulu said: “Who can a Ghanaian even officiate a game in which Nigeria is involved? Definitely obvious.”
Stanley wrote: “Sometimes you no dey make sense one bit but we dey manage am. You refer to an extra time plus penalty shootout match as rigged?”
The debate continues online, with football fans across Africa sharply divided over the referee’s performance and the influence of host nations in major tournaments.
