After a very brilliant start to affairs at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations for Gabon, head coach Jorge Costa was understandably incensed after his men were sent packing by hosts Equatorial Guinea after a penalty decision he felt was incorrect.
After the teams had played on an even footing for 50-odd minutes, Ivorian referee
Doue Noumandiez Desire awarded a referee to the tournament hosts for what he saw as a trip on Javier Balboa in the Gabon box. Balboa buried his penalty, allowing his team to play under less pressure and notch a second goal.
While the whole of Equatorial Guinea went up in a frenzy after an achievement that was nothing short of a miracle, Costa was not amused.
“Equatorial Guinea would not have scored but for the penalty they were given which did not exist,” Costa ranted to AfricanFootball.com after Gabon's elimination.
“It was not a penalty. He (Balboa) dived. And I know so because I have been in football for 30 years. I’m not somebody who has worked in a super market.”
“This penalty changed everything. I only hope that was a mistake.”
“As hosts they only needed a soft penalty to be able to win. That penalty was the turn of the game,”
“Even after watching replays on TV you can tell that there was no penalty. Although we are out, I pray that the best teams win,” he concluded.
Watch Balboa's penalty as well as the altercation that caused it below:
