Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz has defended his criticism of the referee’s penalty decision in the Black Stars’ 2-0 defeat by Ivory Coast, insisting his comments were not intended to diminish the hosts’ performance.
The Black Stars opened their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with defeat at the Stade de Bouaké, where Brighton forward Malick Yalcouyé put the Elephants ahead before captain Franck Kessié sealed victory from the penalty spot after Abdul Fatawu Issahaku was adjudged to have fouled Yalcouyé.
Speaking after the match, Queiroz said the decision had a significant impact on the contest but stressed that Ivory Coast fully deserved credit for their display.
“First of all, I would like to say in front of the people of Côte d’Ivoire that my comment about the mistake of the referee has nothing to do with Côte d’Ivoire,” Queiroz said.
“It has nothing to do with the merit or the quality of the players of Côte d’Ivoire. They played, did their job, and we did our job too.
“But of course, to recover from 1-0 down is completely different from recovering from 2-0 down.”
The defeat marked a disappointing start for Ghana, who are bidding to return to the AFCON finals after failing to qualify for the previous edition, the first time in more than two decades they missed out on the tournament.
Queiroz described the encounter as another closely fought chapter in the long-running rivalry between the two West African nations.
“The game was tight as always,” he said.
“The 16-over-15 wins show that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire always have tight games.
“But the result is now gone; it is history.”
The Portuguese coach also revealed Ghana suffered an injury setback during the match but said his immediate priority is ensuring his squad is ready for their next assignment.
“We lost one player during the game, but now it’s just to recover our players and be focused for the next game and win the next game at home,” he added.
“That is what we are going to do now – prepare the players as much as we can to win the next game.”
Ghana have since returned home and will host The Gambia in their second Group C fixture on Tuesday, 29 September, with the Black Stars seeking their first points of the qualifying campaign.
