Referee who officiated South Africa vs Nigeria finally speaks after 2 wrong offside calls against Super Eagles

Referee who officiated South Africa vs Nigeria finally speaks after 2 wrong offside calls against Super Eagles

Gambian referee Bakary Papa Gassama has reportedly apologised to the Super Eagles for disallowing two of their goals in Saturday's African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.

Nigeria were forced to 1-1 draw by Bafana Bafana at the FNB Stadium Johannesburg but managed to stage a return to the continental championship for the first time since 2013.

Gernot Rohr's men took the lead after just ten minutes of action through an own goal from Buhle Mkhwanazi following a superb cross from Samuel Kalu from the right flank.

Lebo Mothiba equalised for the hosts in the 26th minute after man of the match Percy Tau dissected Nigeria's defence with just a dribble.

The three-time African kings had another chance to double their lead in the 18th minute but the referee, again, flagged Kelechi Ihenacho offside.

Towards the end of the meeting, Musa was presented with a chance to seal the win but another poor call from the match officials ensured that move was aborted.

And both teams shared the spoils at the end of regulation period, and the referee, who is Africa's best for the second time running appealed to Nigerians for the wrong calls.

Gassama admitted the error and even went a step further by sending his apologies to Musa over the incident, but insisted that such errors are sometimes unavoidable.

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