Gabonese referee could be in trouble after Caf queries controversial penalty given to Algeria

GABONESE referee Eric Otogo-Castane ‎ may be in trouble for awarding Algeria a last minute penalty against Nigeria in Constantine yesterday with enabled them grab a draw after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) criticised the decision.

Yesterday, Nigeria's Super Eagles were on course to beat Algeria's Desert Foxes in the historical city of Constantine after John Ogu has opened the scores in the 62nd minute with a long drive. However, two minutes from time, Mr Otogo-Castane awarded Algeria a controversial penalty for what looked like an innocuous challenge.

Algerian skipper Yacine Brahaimi took the resulting spot kick, drawing Algeria level, enabling then Foxes to have a share of the spoils. However, Caf has criticised the decision in its match report with a piece on its website tagged Algeria Convert Soft Penalty To Hold Nigeria.

According to Caf, Shehu Abdullahi who was adjudged to have fouled Brahaimi in the box did not foul the forward. It is unclear if Caf will take any action over the matter or if Mr Otogo-Castane will face any disciplinary action.

Caf said: “Yacine Brahimi won and converted a harshly-awarded late penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw for Algeria against already-qualified Nigeria Friday in a World Cup Africa zone Group B dead-rubber. The Gabonese referee ruled that Abdullahi Shehu fouled Brahimi as he moved into the box in Constantine but big-screen replays suggested otherwise.”

Nigeria's Super Eagles ended their World Cup qualifiers on a sound note, ending the contest without losing any game. Having beaten Zambia away and drawn with Cameroon in Yaounde, the Eagles travelled well throughout the qualifiers as well as winning all their three home matches.

Yesterday, the first half ended goalless with very few chances for both teams. Nigeria started the half the better side but could easily have fallen behind around the half hour mark when goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa fumbled a routine catch but Yacine Brahaimi failed to keep his header down.

That miss haunted the Algerians later on as John Ogu latched onto a poor clearance out of the box of Algeria, before curling home a sweet left foot shot from over 25 yards for the opening goal of the game. Nigeria on to the lead until the 88th minute when the controversial penalty drew the Algerians level.

Coach Gernot Rohr fielded a changed side yesterday that involved six changes from the team that played the last qualifier in Uyo against Zambia. Die a combination of injuries and the need to try out some new players, debuts were given to the likes of Anthony Nwakaeme and Henry Onyekuru, while several fringe players like Ola Aina, Oghene Etebo and Ogu were given starting shirts.

Of late, Caf has been clamping down on poor refereeing decisions and suspending referees who make poor judgement calls. A World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal was even replayed because Caf was unhappy with the way it was officiated.