Angry Black Stars Coach Otto Addo Slams Referee for Gifting Ronaldo Non Existent Penalty Against Ghana

• Head coach of Ghana Otto Addo insisted the Black Stars were 'robbed' after Cristiano Ronaldo's 'non-existent' penalty
• The penalty was awarded by referee Ismail Elfath and he also declined a VAR review much to the chagrin of Addo
• The controversial penalty was the catalyst for Ghana's defeat in their opening game and would have to pick a positive result against South Korea in their next game to avoid elimination

Ghana manager Otto Addo did not mince his words, as he expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of officiating in their Group H opener against Portugal.

Unquestionably the most entertaining second half of the 2022 World Cup thus far, Otto Addo's Black Stars suffered a painful loss in a tantalisingly close encounter.

A combination of a controversial penalty and an equally contestable Rafael Leao goal, plus a sublime Joao Felix finish, consigned Ghana to a 3-2 loss on Thursday, November 24.

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The nature of two of Portugal's three goals has left a bitter taste in the mouth of Ghanaians, including head coach Addo.

Addo insisted that the spot kick from which Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 8th goal in his fifth appearance at the World Cup, was a 'gift' by referee Ismail Elfath.

"The referee gave a penalty which was not a penalty. Everyone saw that. Why?" Addo quizzed as quoted by George Addo.

He continued: "Because it's Ronaldo or something? If somebody scores a goal, congratulations. But this was really a gift. A special gift from the referee.”

Ghana suffer painful defeat

Portugal began the game dominating possession, winning a corner kick after just three minutes, the Black Stars defended the set piece well.

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Alidu Seidu gave Ghana a near chance after running down the right, but the Clermont Foot defender's cross did not meet its target.

Ronaldo had the best chance to give the Portuguese the lead after he was sent through by Bernardo Silva, but the talisman striker was denied by goalkeeper Richard Ati-Zigi.

Fans unhappy with 'bad' officiating

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that football fans across social media vented their displeasure at referee Elfath for his controversial decision not to review Ronaldo's penalty incident.

Portugal and Ghana played out a nail-biting five-goal thriller in their Group H opener at Stadium 974 on Thursday, November 24.

The Selecao broke the deadlock via the penalty spot before Andre Ayew levelled the score, but it was the penalty involving CR7 that had fans talking after the game.