Moroccan referee Driss Lamghaidar and his officiating team have admitted their error in ordering extra time and penalties in Saturday’s 2026 CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria and Ghana in Kaduna.
Spectators and dignitaries were left bewildered when Lamghaidar and his assistants ordered extra time and subsequently penalties after the first-leg encounter ended 3-3 in regulation time.
At a meeting on Saturday night, Lamghaidar admitted the mistake, acknowledging that the match should have ended after regulation time, as the tie was a two-legged fixture, with the decisive return leg scheduled for Sunday, October 18, in Keta, Ghana.
The admission means the tie remains level, with both teams having everything to play for in the return leg.
Isa Hamza Manga scored a hat-trick for Nigeria, while Mawuli Sosu netted twice and Wise Nyamadi scored once for Ghana’s Black Sharks.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had immediately demanded an explanation for the decision to proceed to extra time and penalties, describing the situation as an anomaly in a two-legged contest whose first leg had just ended.
Among the top officials who watched the match at the Murtala Muhammed Square Beach Soccer Pitch were the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko; the NFF Acting General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme; and the Kaduna State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Ben Kure.
Others included Special Assistants to the NSC Chairman, Barr. Musa Amadu and Clement Nwankpa; the NFF Acting Deputy General Secretary, Dr Ademola Olajire; and the NSC Chairman’s Personal Assistant, Alhaji Ahmad Muazu.
