Nigerian football fans have criticised Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea for what they described as biased and poor officiating during the Super Eagles’ 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final on Wednesday night.
The match ended goalless after extra time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat before Nigeria missed two spot-kicks, with Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi denied by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Fans pointed to statistics showing Nigeria committed 29 fouls compared to Morocco’s 19, yet received two yellow cards while the hosts were not cautioned, fuelling claims of one-sided decisions influenced by home advantage and the Nigeria–Ghana rivalry.
At a viewing centre in Lagos, supporters voiced their frustration over several calls, with Olakunle Okunbanjo saying, “Obviously, he’s been biased. Looking at it, we all expect this home advantage. But it seems he’s been extra biased and has made so many wrong calls. Don’t forget, he’s a Ghanaian too, so we expected this based on our rivalry.”
Bernard Daniel added, “He made so many poor decisions against us, maybe because Morocco are the host nation,” while fans on X also vented their anger, including one who posted Laryea’s photo with the caption, “The worst referee in AFCON 26,” and another who wrote, “God punish that referee, but before God, men go first punish am!”
Particular criticism was directed at the yellow card shown to Calvin Bassey, which will rule him out of the third-place match, as fans questioned why Morocco finished the game without a single booking.