Captain John Mikel Obi has reacted to the loss of the Super Eagles in the last group stage match against Messi's Argentina.
Mikel speaking after the match
While speaking at the post match briefing in St. Petersburg in
Russia, Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, said last night Turkish
referee, Cuneyt Cakin accepted that the ball struck the hand of
Argentina’s defender, Marcus Rojo in the 82nd minute, but refused to
award a penalty.
If the penalty was awarded and scored at a time the match was 1-1,
it could have wrapped up a second round ticket for the Eagles and dump
Argentina out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Mikel said: "I asked the referee if he thought the ball struck
Rojo’s hand and he said ‘yes;. The refeee told me that the ball came off
Rojo’s head before it hit his hand.
"I then asked Cakur why he didn’t award the penalty to Nigeria,
he said: ‘I don’t know.’ That was sad because we checked the match
video in the dressing room and it was a clear penalty kick.
“When the ball touches your hand in the penalty box, it’s a
penalty. No two ways about that. Maybe he didn’t want to give us the
second penalty. It is sad we had to exit the competition this way."
Speaking about his future with the national team, Mikel said he
would be most delighted to lead the boys going further into the future.
"I’m happy playing with this bunch of players. I expect them to
grow into a great side and I think this team would make a good
impression in the next four years.
"They are good boys with bright future. Of course, we did
everything we could; we pushed and pushed to get the goal but it was to
be. We want to thank all Nigerians for their support; and we have to
keep going.”
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