Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes says a referee with a bigger profile should have been taken

Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes says a referee with a bigger profile should have been to handle their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final clash with Ghana.

The Black Stars defeated the Blue Sharks 2-0 in the match in Port Elizabeth which sparked anger from the coach who also works as an air traffic controller.

Mubarak Wakaso scored twice to sink surprise packages in a fiercely contested quarter-final of the tournament in South Africa.

But Antunes was left with a bitter taste in the mouth following a second-half awarded to Ghana.

The moment of controversy came when the penalty was awarded by referee Rajinjapasad Seechurn of Mauritius.

He ruled that defender Carlitos, whose cousin Nani plays for Manchester United, had felled Ghana skipper Asamoah Gyan with an unfair shoulder charge as they challenged for the ball.

Antunes questioned the decision by CAF to choose a referee from Mauritius to handle the clash.

“We cannot complain about the referee’s decisions…we did not complain in our first three matches,” Antunes said.

“But while I respect his country, is it right that a referee from Mauritius should be in charge of such a big match as an African Nations Cup quarter-final?”.

Ghana will play Burkina Faso in the semi-final on Wednesday.