By Ghazali Ibrahim
A wave of concern has swept across Nigeria’s football community following the appointment of Ghanaian referee, Daniel Laryea, to officiate the highly anticipated AFCON 2025 semi-final clash between Nigeria and Morocco.
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction, questioning the neutrality of assigning a referee from a country that shares a long-standing football rivalry with Nigeria. On platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, fans accused the Confederation of African Football (CAF) of risking the integrity of the match.
“We want fair play. A Ghanaian referee for a Nigeria semi-final? That’s a red flag already,” one user wrote.
Another commented, “There are 54 countries in Africa. CAF couldn’t find a more neutral official?”
Hashtags like #NoToGhanaianRef and #FairPlayForSuperEagles have been trending as fans demand a reconsideration of the appointment.
Despite the backlash, CAF has defended its choice, stating that Laryea is one of Africa’s most experienced referees, having officiated at multiple AFCON tournaments and FIFA-sanctioned matches.
Still, the controversy has heightened the tension ahead of the semi-final scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, with Nigerian fans hoping the officiating will be free of bias as the Super Eagles chase their fourth continental title.
