Kotoko fans unhappy about penalty call by referee Abdulai Ibrahim
Etouga Mbelle misses penalty in Kotoko’s defeat to Sharks
Retired FIFA referee Joseph Wellington has described the controversial penalty incident in the Elmina Sharks versus Asante Kotoko game as legitimate.
Referee Abdulai Ibrahim awarded Elmina Sharks a penalty after Asante Kotoko’s Mohammed Sherif handled a corner kick inside the box in their matchday 16 Ghana Premier League game.
While some of Kotoko players and fans disagreed with the decision, the former FIFA referee disclosed that the decision was right.
“It is a legitimate penalty. The defender made his body bigger. He had expanded himself. For me, what I saw there was a legitimate penalty call by the referee,” he said on Asempa FM on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
Alhaji Mustapha's kick was saved by Kotoko’s goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim, but the assistant referee flagged him for stepping off the line before the ball was shot.
On that decision, Joseph Wellington said, “at the time of the kick, if both legs are off the line the kick must be retaken. In the case of Danlad, both legs were off the line. In the case of the penalty against Elmina Sharks, the goalkeeper had one leg on the line before the kick was taken,” he added.
Ibrahim Imoro was given a red card for abusing the assistant referee after the Kotoko players staged a protest against the decision.
Asante Kotoko got a penalty in the dying minutes of the game but Cameroonian attack Etouga Mbelle had his shot stopped by the Elmina Sharks goalkeeper.
File photo: Elmina Sharks penalty was retaken