A Nigerian lawyer has ignited a fresh wave of controversy following the Super Eagles' exit from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), after sharing a damning assessment of the match referee from a former FIFA Council member.
Lawyer Reveals Ex-FIFA Official's Stinging Critique
The revelation came from lawyer @osasuo, who took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to disclose a conversation he had on the morning of Thursday, January 16, 2026. According to his post, he received a call from a friend who is a former member of both the FIFA Council and the CAF Executive Committee.
The sole purpose of the call was to comment on the performance of Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea, who officiated the intense semi-final clash between Nigeria and Morocco. The match, which ended in a 2-4 penalty shootout loss for Nigeria after a goalless draw, has been a subject of intense debate among fans.
Quoting his source directly, the lawyer shared the former official's blunt verdict: "His officiating was awful. It was so obvious. All the calls were going against Nigeria." The lawyer added his own agreement, writing, "I am happy I’m not the only one that observed his poor game management."
Mixed Reactions from Football Fans Online
The lawyer's post triggered a flood of reactions from Nigerian and African football enthusiasts, revealing a sharp divide in opinion.
Some users strongly agreed with the criticism. User @prettycachy pointed to a specific incident: "This was obvious. How do you give Kelvin Bassey a yellow card for his shirt being pulled back by Brahim Diaz?"
Others, however, defended the referee's performance and shifted the blame to the team's display. @Tahamurcielago argued: "Can you give us concrete examples? A team that managed only one shot on target, couldn’t even get past the midfield, and then lost on penalties cannot seriously claim that the refereeing was bad. As usual, in Africa, we are very poor losers."
Another user, @menubachike, offered a more measured view: "There were few fouls here and there he didn't give our way but nothing serious... can't point out any incident in particular that impacted this game."
Broader Calls for Improvement in African Officiating
Beyond the immediate blame game, the conversation expanded into a critique of match officiating standards across the continent. User @MIley_pips commented: "The stage was too big for him to handle. Africa should invest more into match officiating."
This sentiment echoes a long-standing concern among football stakeholders in Africa regarding the quality and consistency of refereeing at the highest levels of the game. The controversy surrounding Laryea's performance has now been amplified by the weight of a critique from a former top-tier football administrator.
The incident adds another layer to the post-mortem of Nigeria's AFCON 2025 campaign, where the search for reasons behind the semi-final defeat continues to involve not just the players and technical crew, but also the match officials.
