Guinea playmaker blames penalty decision

Guinea captain Ibrahim Traore says the referee’s decision to award Ghana a penalty in their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier turned the match in favour of the Black Stars in Tamale.

The match was 1-1 in the second-half when the referee Bernard Camille pointed to the spot after the match official adjudged that the ball hit the hand of defender Abdoulaye Cisse.


Asamoah Gyan’s attempt was blocked by the effort of Cisse which resulted in Andre Ayew scoring from the spot to hand the Black Stars a 2-1 lead before Agyemang Badu’s strike late in the game sealed the victory.


Traore claims their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Ghana, was helped by the referee’s decision to hand the Black Stars the penalty at the crucial part of the game.


“Ghana came well prepared to win the game, and they did so,” Ibrahim told the media after the game.


“But the game actually changed after the referee awarded the penalty to Ghana. That was not a penalty and I don’t know why the referee awarded that penalty.

“That changed the entirety of the game,” he fumed.


Television replays showed that the defender handled the ball in the box which resulted in the penalty. Ghana cemented their place at the top of their group after edging to victory past Guinea on Wednesday in Tamale in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.


The Black Stars, making their debut at the Tamale Stadium took their point tally to 8 from four games with two more matches left in the Group E campaign as Maxwell Konadu’s side won 3-1.


Guinea will face Togo next away before hosting Uganda at home to confirm whether they stand a chance of qualifying to the tournament in Morocco.