South Africa FA Aim Subtle Dig at Ghana After Cristiano Ronaldo’s Controversial Penalty

• South Africa Football Association uploaded a cryptic post after Ghana lost to Portugal at the 2022 World Cup in a controversial fashion
• Fans on social media believe that the South Africa FA are still pained about how they were eliminated by Ghana during the World Cup qualifies
• Portugal began their 2022 World Cup campaign on a winning note against Ghana, but it was not without controversy

South Africa Football Association appeared to poke fun at Ghana after the Black Stars expressed their dissatisfaction with the level of officiating in their Group H opener against Portugal.

The four-time African champions had been comfortably holding Portugal until referee Ismail Elfath awarded a penalty for Mohammed Salisu's challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 37-year-old then slotted home from the spot in the 65th minute to give the European country the lead.

Otto Addo and his men went on to lose 3-2 after an equally contestable Rafael Leao goal, plus a sublime Joao Felix finish on Thursday.

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After the game ended at Stadium 974 in Doha, South Africa Football Association's Twitter handle uploaded an image of their former President Nelson Mandela and Ronaldo.

The photo was accompanied by the caption: #FlashbackFriday When Cristiano Ronaldo met former South Africa President Nelson Mandela. ✊ #United4Bafana

Fans were quick to comment on the post, with many insinuating how painful penalty decisions can be when they are deemed unfair by the impacted team.

@Takatso Shayne Mokoatle said:

"As long as Ghana loses im happy...they must suffer until they apologize."

@Morh Shandurh sarcastically posted:

"What Ronaldo did to our friends Ghanaians is so painful."

@Mavis Dziedzorm Mawusi questioned the relevance of the post

"Why are you guys so pained and not able to get over the defeat? He visited Nelson Mandela and you are just realizing that today?"

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It appears the South African FA is still fuming about an incident in Cape Coast last year when Ghana were awarded a penalty against Bafana Bafana which resulted in a goal that put Ghana in a good World Cup qualification spot.

The SAFA's protest to FUFA was subsequently dismissed.

Fans slam Ghana vs Portugal referee

Sports Brief earlier reported that football fans across social media vented their spleen about referee Ismail Elfath, for his strange decision not to review Cristiano 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.

Portugal broke the game's deadlock via the penalty spot before Andre Ayew levelled the score shortly after. In a space of three minutes, however, the Selecao put the game beyond the reach of the Black Stars with two quickfire goals.