Retired referee faults penalty in Ghana’s loss to Portugal

Retired English referee, Mike Dean, has questioned the officiating in Ghana’s 3-2 loss to Portugal in the 2022 World Cup on Thursday evening.

Ismail Elfath, penalized Mohammed Salisu for contact with Cristiano Ronaldo to award the two-time World Cup semi-finalists a penalty.

Dean said Elfath should have been invited to review the incident at the pitch side VAR monitor, but that was not done. He said the decision to give Portugal the penalty was something he cannot defend, though he usually tends to back referees.

Ghana head coach Otto Addo also described the penalty as a gift from Elfath while expressing his disappointment at the referee’s performance. Ghana Football Association (GFA) has petitioned FIFA over the key decisions of the referee that affected the outcome of the game as Addo said they would shift focus to Monday’s encounter against South Korea in their second Group H game.

Ghana players react after Portugal won the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between Portugal and Ghana at Stadium 974 in Doha on November 24, 2022. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)