Nigerian football fans have criticised Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea, accusing him of biased and poor officiating during the Super Eagles’ semi-final defeat to Morocco on Wednesday night.
Nigeria lost 4-2 on penalties after Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi had their spot-kicks saved by Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, following a goalless draw after extra time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The Eagles committed 29 fouls compared to Morocco’s 19 but received two yellow cards, while the hosts were not cautioned once, sparking allegations of one-sided officiating.
The historic Nigeria-Ghana football rivalry led some fans to believe that Laryea may have had an extra incentive against the three-time African champions.
At a viewing centre in Lagos State, fans expressed frustration over several of Laryea’s decisions during the match.
Olakunle Okunbanjo said, “He’s clearly been biased. We expected some home advantage, but he made so many wrong calls. Being a Ghanaian referee, some of this was expected given our rivalry.”
Bernard Daniel added, “There were so many poor decisions against Nigeria, maybe because Morocco were the host. Even during extra time, the commentators seemed confused about some calls, especially the corner kick that was ruled a goal kick during the Victor Osimhen incident.”
Fans at the viewing centre reacted loudly to each contentious call, while social media users also voiced their anger.
On X, Roweazy Zetarium described Laryea as “the worst referee in AFCON 26,” and user Oby (@Just__Oby) wrote, “God punish that referee, but before God, men go first punish am!”
Abimbola Oyediran noted, “The referee was very biased in most of the infringements against Lookman and other attackers.” Another fan (@machinche_250) admitted that Morocco were the better side but criticised Laryea’s officiating, calling him “useless with most of his calls.”
Particular attention was paid to the yellow card shown to Calvin Bassey, which will rule him out of the third-place play-off. Fan Ìléríolúwa (@Ilerioluwakiye_) questioned the decision, saying, “How will a referee give a yellow card to someone whose shirt was pulled? I still don’t understand.”
The Confederation of African Football appointed Laryea, 38, to officiate the high-profile encounter. This was his second match at the tournament, having previously refereed Burkina Faso’s 1-0 defeat to Algeria in the group stage.
Laryea was supported by assistant referees Zakhele Siwela of South Africa, Souru Phatsoane of Lesotho, and Arsenio Maringule of Mozambique, while Samuel Uwikunda served as fourth official. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duties were handled by Abongile Tom of South Africa, with Haythem Guirat of Tunisia and Stephen Onyango Yiembe of Kenya as assistant VAR officials.
A FIFA-listed international referee since 2014, Laryea regularly officiates in the Ghana Premier League. He has experience in the African Nations Championship, AFCON, and CAF Women’s Champions League.
