Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has suggested that some of the officiating decisions in Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash with Morocco were questionable.
Nigeria’s campaign came to an end after a goalless 120 minutes, with the hosts edging the Super Eagles 4–2 on penalties.
Reacting to the defeat, Iwobi said it was painful because the team believed they had been one of the standout sides in the tournament.
Speaking in a video message shared on social media ahead of Nigeria’s third-place match against Egypt, the Fulham star admitted the squad was disappointed not to get the outcome they hoped for.
“Sadly, we didn’t achieve the result we wanted against Morocco. Fair play to them and congratulations,” Iwobi said.
“However, there were moments in the game where we felt some of the decisions didn’t go our way. There were a few things done by the officials that we found questionable.
“In the end, Morocco qualified and we have to respect that. But it hurts because we truly believed we deserved to be in the final.”
Iwobi added that the defeat was especially hard to take because of how well Nigeria had performed throughout the competition.
“It’s really disappointing. We honestly felt this was one of the best tournaments we’ve played in a long time and one of our strongest displays of football,” he concluded.
Nigeria will now turn their attention to the third-place playoff against Egypt on Saturday.
Should we send you latest update about your favourite sports and team?
Enter you email in the box below and hit the subscribe button to join our teaming 876+ sports community.
