Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah believes his side exited the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations due to the unavailability of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) at the tournament following their loss to Tunisia at the Round of 16 stage on Monday.
The four-times champions exited the competition after losing 5-4 on penalties against Tunisia at the Ismailia Stadium.
The Carthage Eagles got the opener through Taha Khenissi in the 73rd minute before an own goal by Rami Bediou took the game to extra time.
Andre Ayew’s back-heel nicely gave Ghana the lead before the recess but it was disallowed after referee Victor Gomez whistled for a hand ball.
Speaking after the match, coach Appiah thinks his side deserved to go through ahead of the North Africans but they were let down by lack of VAR at the early stages of the competition as it would be introduced from the quarter-finals of the tournament.
“Expectations were high. We really worked hard and put in our best. Unfortunately penalties can go either way and also Tunisia is a strong team,” Kwesi Appiah told reporters after the match.
“I think there should be VAR in African football. If there was VAR today the results could have changed. The goal scored would have been allowed.”
“I think he Victor Gomez should go and watch the video again and judge it for himself. It was really bad,” he ended.
