Nigerian football fans have criticised Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea following his officiating during the Super Eagles’ semi-final defeat to hosts Morocco at the ongoing2025 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Fans argued that Wednesday night’s officiating was compromised, suggesting the bias stems either from hosts Morocco coercing the referee or the long-standing rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana.

Nigeria lost 4-2 on penalties after Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi’s spot-kicks were saved by Yassine Bounou following a goalless draw after extra time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

The Super Eagles committed 29 fouls compared to Morocco’s 19, yet received two yellow cards while the hosts were not cautioned once, prompting accusations of one-sided officiating.

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The Nigeria-Ghana rivalry led many fans to believe the referee had an extra incentive against the three-time champions, with some pointing to historical tensions between both nations.

CAF-certified journalist Pooja Media slammed the match’s officiating as a ‘dirty job,’ acknowledging the poor standard of refereeing during the encounter.

@PoojaMedia’s statement on X reads, “This is too obvious from the ref. Our boys need to be calm. Dirty job is being done here”
Another media personality, @_AsiwajuLerry, wrote, “Nigeria will play against the AFCON host country in a stadium where they’ve bought all the tickets with a Referee that is from Ghana and a VAR from South Africa.”
Samuel Akpan, another X user identified as @coolestguy2891, wrote, “Daniel Laryea was in charge of Burkina Faso vs Algeria. He denied Burkina Faso a penalty in that game. The captain was fined $10,000 for protesting.
“Morocco vs Cameroon, he was in charge of VAR, and he didn’t call the REF to check the Mbeumo penalty call, Nigeria is in for it.”
One user (@ade_mummy) questioned why Morocco received no yellow cards throughout the match, writing, “At some point I was asking my husband whether it is possible for a referee not to have any cards on him.”
On Air Personality, Do2dtun Energy gAD also condemned the officiating, saying, “This Ghanaian referee is very biased. Too obvious .. it’s so disgusting to watch.”
Nigerians didn’t stop at condemning the officiating, as reports suggest that fans mass-reported the Instagram handle of Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea, a move that prompted the suspension of his account.”
However, a check by TVC News Digital could not confirm the development, as there was no active account matching the referee’s name as of the time of filing this report.