Asamoah Gyan, a legend in Ghana, criticized referee Ismael Elfath for giving Portugal a penalty.
After the Black Stars put on a strong first-half effort, the American referee gave Portugal a penalty after Ghana’s Mohammed Salisu challenged Cristiano Ronaldo for a 50-50 ball in the 18-yard box.
Elfath maintained by his verdict despite evidence that the Ghanaian touched the ball on replays and requests for a VAR review.
The Portuguese defeated Ghana 3-2 as Ronaldo expertly converted the penalty kick to break the tie.
Gyan, who has participated in three different World Cups, criticized the referee’s choice in a post-game interview.
“The penalty decision was poor and soft,” Gyan said on SuperSport.
“I am a striker but what we saw was soft and should not be a penalty,” he added.
Portugal already leads the group after the victory, although today’s setback to the Black Stars might not be too costly given that South Korea and Uruguay earlier in the day drew 0-0.
The match between Ghana and South Korea will take place on Monday at the Education City Stadium with kickoff set for 13:00GMT.
