There was an incident, according to Portugal’s head coach Fernando Santos, thus the American referee Ismail Elfath did not need to consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
In their Group H opener on Thursday, Portugal overcame Ghana 3-2. Ronaldo’s controversial dive for the opening goal was controversial.
Since the American referee purchased the dive that Cristiano Ronaldo offered him without checking the VAR, the Black Stars felt tricked.
The first goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo from the penalty spot after the referee gave Portugal a highly disputed penalty for what appeared to be a dive by the former Manchester United star following a tight call with Mohammed Salisu.
The American referee immediately pointed to the spot resisting all attempts to have a second look at the incident on the video assistant referee despite protestation from the Ghanaian players.
“I think if the VAR team had felt the referee should consult the VAR, they would have prompted him. I also think Joao Felix was fouled at a point and I expected the referee to check the VAR but he didn’t. So I don’t think there was a call the VAR would have been necessary for the referee.”
After a strong buildup from midfield, Mohammed Kudus’ attempt from the Black Stars in the second half missed the post.
After Portugal’s defense failed to intercept a cross from Baba Abdul Rahman, Ghana’s captain Andre Ayew scored a close-range goal to tie the score.
A few minutes later, Portugal struck back with two goals in as many minutes to end the match. Joao Felix scored on a lovely clipped finish, and replacement Rafael Leao calmly stroked in the game-winning goal just seconds after coming on.
Osman Bukhari scored a late consolation goal for the absence of Stars as the game came to a finish. However, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, Inaki Williams intercepted a pass from and prevented any genuine drama from occurring.