Mike Dean, a retired English official, has questioned the refereeing in Ghana’s 3-2 defeat to Portugal on Thursday in the 2022 World Cup.
Mohammed Salisu was given a penalty by American referee Ismail Elfath for making the least amount of contact with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has now reached two World Cup semifinals.
Elfath should have been given the opportunity to review the event at the pitch side Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, according to Mike Dean, but that was not done.
Even though he normally supports officials, he claimed he could not defend the decision to award Portugal the penalty.
“The VAR, in my opinion, should have gotten involved, should’ve invited the referee over to have a look at it,” Mike Dean told beIN Sports after the game.
He continued, “I like to back referees all the time, but you can’t support stuff like that. You can’t defend the undefendable.
“For me, it should’ve been overturned, he should’ve gone to the screen…100% it was wrong.”
Ghana head coach Otto Addo also described the penalty as a gift from Ismail Elfath while expressing his disappointment at the performance of the referee.
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The Ghana Football Association petitions FIFA about the conduct of US referee Ismail Elfath after his key decisions – including a penalty awarded Portugal and failure to check VAR – cost the Black Stars points in their World Cup opener.#MGLQatar2022 pic.twitter.com/VCXKb0bmDl
— ⬅️ #JoySportsZone ⏳️ (@JoySportsGH) November 25, 2022