Asante Kotoko coach Seydou Zerbo has blamed the referee for his team’s elimination from the MTN FA Cup on Sunday.
Zerbo accused the match official, Amadu Ibrahim, of favouring home side Aduana Stars, who won the game 1-0 thanks to a second-half penalty in Dormaa.
Sam Adams stepped up to take the controversial penalty, which he calmly converted to give Aduana the lead. However, Kotoko players and officials protested the decision, claiming that it was not a foul and that the referee had favoured the home side throughout the game.
After the match, Zerbo reiterated his belief that the referee’s decision had cost his team the game. “Yes, we were defeated, but the referee’s effort won the match for Aduana,” he said in a post-match interview.
The defeat means Kotoko are out of the MTN FA Cup but still have a chance to win the league. However, they trail Aduana by seven points with only a few games left in the season and will need to win their remaining matches and hope for a slip-up from their rivals if they are to have any chance of lifting the title.