How Poor Officiating Caused Ghana’s loss to Portugal at the World Cup.
Ghana opened it’s World Cup campaign in Qatar on Thursday November 24, 2022 with a match against Portugal at the Stadium 974 in Doha.
The Black Stars of Ghana lost the match 3-2 amidst some controversial decisions by the US referee Ismail Elfath.
But who is referee Ismail Elfath? He is a 40-year-old top International referee and one of 28 new referees in this year’s tournament. He began his career in 2012 as a Major League Soccer (MLS) referee. Four years later, he became a FIFA listed referee. With several awards to his name, Elfath is considered one of the game’s highly rated referees. He has been an International referee since 2016.
High level matches like the one between Ghana and Portugal require experienced hands. Ismail Elfath is not new to the job. FIFA did not have to think twice before entrusting the match between the two countries into his hands. Such a tough game. With his level of experience and exposure, he was expected to officiate the match to near-perfection.
The game ended 3-2 in favour of Portugal. Ghana is not happy. Referee Elfath made some controversial calls which pundits maintain affected the tone and texture of the game. Christiano Ronaldo fell in the Ghanaian 18-yard box in the 62nd minute. The referee awarded a penalty. There was no consultation of the Video Assistant Referee. Ronaldo converted the penalty to open his goal account at the tournament. The Ghanaian FA has petitioned FIFA to look into the conduct of referee Elfath.
Ghana lies at the bottom of the table with no points. To stand the chance of progressing to the next stage of the competition, she must win her last two matches with Uruguay and South Korea.
Ghana would need to reach deep into her vault of courage for inspiration to progress in the tournament. When they clash with Uruguay on Friday December 2, there will be only one thing on the minds of the Ghanaian team: r-e-v-e-n-g-e!