Head Coach of the Senior National team, the Black Stars, James Kwesi Appiah, has called for fair officiating as they prepare to take on Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau in the remaining Group F matches of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019 in Egypt.
Coach Appiah, who guided the Black Stars to a two all stalemate against the Squirrels of Benin in the second Group F game at Ismailia, said a post-match interview that, he barely comments about match officiating, but it had become necessary when you have referees as the final authority in games.
“We really had a competitive game and it is always difficult playing with 10 men and we had to change our tactics after the red card to John Boye.
“I don’t like criticizing referees but along the line we hope that we get fair officiating in all the games.
“Every player can make a mistake at any point, but all that I’m saying is that there are some situations in a game, that a referee can warn someone about an antic or situation and that was what I was thinking the referee was going to do, but he was in charge and gave his final verdict, which changed the entire face of the game,” he concluded.
Ghana defender John Boye was shown a second yellow card to take an early shower as the Black Stars finished the game with 10 men for majority of the second half.
Ghana has to beat Cameroon on Saturday June 25, 2019 if there is any chance of qualifying for the next round of the 24 nation tournament in Egypt.