South African coach Broos hits out at referee after Ghana defeat
The Black Stars won the game after Andre Ayew converted a contentious penalty in the 33rd minute to advance to the final qualifying round.
Hugo Broos believed referee Maguette Ndiaye gave his team the short end of the stick during Bafana Bafana’s 1-0 loss to Ghana in a World Cup qualifier at the Cape Coast Stadium on Sunday.
Broos, who has only been with the South African squad for three months, had mixed feelings over their elimination after coming so close – both sides finished the campaign with 13 points, and Ghana advanced on goal difference.
“First and foremost, I congratulate Ghana on qualifying for the next round,” Broos said after the game.
“On the other hand, I must praise my guys since we played a really difficult game under terrible conditions.”
“We were up against a highly aggressive opponent.” And the referee let them get away with it. For us, he permitted it to be less. As a result, getting a solid result here was tough for us,” the Belgian said.
“However, when you look at what we accomplished in the previous three months, I am really pleased of my team.”
Certainly, Bafana Bafana are in a better position than they were under previous coach Molefi Ntseki, though there will always be a sense of what could have been in terms of their now-defunct aspirations of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
“No one told you before the qualifiers what South Africa would do,” Broos said. “Nobody told you before the qualifying that we would be top in the group, before the last game.”
“There is a team in South Africa again, which is critical.
“Once again, I’m not impressed with the referee; he allowed Ghana to play aggressively.” I have nothing against it, but it needs to be beneficial to both parties, which was not the case.”
Broos was dubious if the penalty awarded by Ndiaye for an alleged shove by Mamelodi Sundowns defender Rushine De Reuck on Daniel Amartey was the correct decision when queried immediately after the match.
“I have no idea what occurred there. Suddenly, a player appeared on the ground. I’m not sure what happened…did something happen or not, I’m not sure because I couldn’t see it. My players, on the other hand, were astonished that the penalty had been called.”
Replays failed to indicate that De Reuck fouled the Leicester City player.
