“It was miserable.” Nigerian Ossai harshly criticized the referee of the Morocco match

Nigerian Bright Osei-Samuel directed harsh and direct criticism at the refereeing team that officiated his country’s match against Morocco on Wednesday evening in the semi-finals of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, expressing his strong dissatisfaction with the decisions taken during the confrontation.
Osei Samuel said in statements to reporters after the match: “The refereeing was miserable. It is truly unfortunate to see referees like these today in such an important tournament.”
“We work hard to represent our country, but when decisions on the field are not fair, it destroys the whole spirit of football. We deserve better than that,” he added.
The Nigerian national team lost to the Atlas Lions 4-2 on penalties after the match ended in a goalless draw.
Osei-Samuel stressed that the repeated mistakes and unjustified stops killed the team’s momentum and prevented the players from expressing themselves freely in a match that required control and clarity.