Gambia has threatened to pull out of the West Africa Football Union Championship following a controversial penalty call against them in the opening match of the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations on Saturday
The Black Stars ‘B’ qualified to the group stage of the competition at the expense of Gambia, thanks to a late penalty call after Thomas Abbey’s cross looked to have struck the arms of a Gambian player in the box.
Defender Vincent Atinga converted to prevent the match from travelling to penalty shootouts.
The decision by the referee left the Gambian players and officials disappointed after the game.
The Gambia FA have released a letter indicating they could boycott the biannual competition.
“Considering the fact that this is the second consecutive time we were robbed in broad daylight in the WAFU competition, the GFF therefore, shall formally protest to WAFU and CAF for necessary action to be taken. We may also consider our participation in the future WAFU competitions unless justice is seen to be done,” a statement on the Gambia Federation website read.
“The decision was greeted with divided commentary among the Ghanaian media with a section applauding referee Ouadraogo for the decision while he is being lashed for killing the dream of the young Gambian side.”
The preliminary games are being played according to the following zones:
Zone A in Takoradi:
Ghana vs The Gambia
Nigeria vs Sierra Leone
Mali vs Mauritania
Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau
Zone B in Cape Coast:
Senegal vs Liberia
Burkina Faso vs Niger
Cote d’Ivoire vs Togo
Benin vs Cape Verde
Winner of the tournament will take USD 100, 000 in prize money.
The tournament is organised by the West Africa Football Union and it is sponsored by US sports television company, Fox Sports.
The tournament will end on September 24.
