Otto Addo slams referee Ismail Elfath for awarding a penalty without using VAR

Ghana’s head coach, Otto Addo, has slammed the referee at the center of Ghana’s 3-2 defeat to Portugal, Ismail Elfath, for not contacting the Video Assistant Referee in deciding on the penalty.

Referee Ismail Elfath awarded a penalty to Portugal in the 61st minute after Cristiano Ronaldo dramatically went down in Ghana’s box.

Despite Mohammed Salisu getting the final kick, the referee still went ahead and awarded the penalty to Portugal for Ronaldo to score.

Speaking after the game, Ghana’s coach Otto Addo expressed his disappointment in the referee for not consulting the VAR before awarding the penalty.

“The referee gave a penalty which was not a penalty. Everybody saw that Salisu played the ball, I don’t know because it is Ronaldo or something. I don’t know what they do, sleeping, it’s a mess,” Otto Addo said.

He added, “we are playing against one of the best opponents, when we playing against the best teams in the world, then things get difficult. I can’t be proud, it was good but its zero points.”

Ghana’s next match is on Monday, November 28, 2022, at 1:00pm.

JNA/BOG