Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez has botched to blame referee for their quarterfinal defeat against Nigeria at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The North African football giants fell short to the Super Eagles in the high-stake match clash on Saturday, thanks to Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams’ strikes.
Algeria hoped to defeat Nigeria to secure a place in the semifinals, but the Super Eagles proved to be the stronger opponent. The West African football heavyweights will now face host nation, Morocco in a highly competitive semifinals on Wednesday.
Despite raising concerns about officiating, the former Manchester City star has botched to attribute their defeat to referee decision, insisting Nigeria were the better side.
“I think the refereeing was not excellent, but it is not the reason for our loss against Nigeria. Everyone saw what happened; he was showing us yellow cards easily, unlike what he did with them.”
“This is football, and matches are decided by small details, and the Nigerian team succeeded in that.”
“The Nigerian team was better than us, perhaps because they have a great generation at the moment, and perhaps we lacked balance. Now we have to continue working to develop forward.”
“We hoped to reach the semi-finals and we did everything we could, but this was the result in the end”
