Lawal Blames Referee for Nigeria’s Defeat against Argentina

Ex-international, Garba Lawal has heavily criticised Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir for Nigeria's 2-1 loss against the Albiceleste of Argentina in the final World Cup Group D match.

The Super Eagles were denied a penalty for Marcos Rojo's handball in the box. Some minutes later, Rojo netted the winning goal that ended Nigeria's World Cup dream in Russia.

However, Garba believed that Nigeria would have qualified if the referee had issued Rojo's handball as a penalty.

“It is so sad that the Super Eagles have been eliminated from the World Cup in Russia,” Garba told Soccernet.ng.

“But what is more painful is the fact that the referee denied us a clear penalty that even the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) captured. But the referee had to use his dubious discretion not to award the penalty to Nigeria.

“Today, the team really impressed everyone, most especially in the second half when they took the game to the Argentina side.

“The good thing is that Nigeria represented Africa well because many thought Argentina will disgrace us.”