We Were Cheated - Nigeria

Nigeria�s U23 national team, Dream Team V, have blamed their defeat to the Black Meteors in the All Africa Games qualifying match to a number of factors, including intimidation by fans at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. Speaking to the press immediately the referee brought proceedings to an end, Namdi Oduamadi, dangerman of the team, attributed poor refereeing on the part of Ivorian Dominic Dembele and intimidation by the home fans as reasons for the loss. He noted that if his team had not encountered these problems they would have carried the day. According to him, what transpired before and after the match was a disgrace to the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria. Kingsley Udoh, captain of the team also said officiating was not fair on the day. �There were some decisions he took which were not fair. We clearly had some fouls in our favour which he ignored. It�s not the best for African football,� he said. Namdi Oduamadi however denied that the Meteors were treated badly in Nigeria while the referee on the day was against the Ghanaians in the first leg. Kickoffnigerian also reported that there were nasty scenes when four Ghanaian fans verbally abused members of Nigeria�s Dream Team V as they headed for their bus after training and pelted them with sachet water packs. Ghana eliminated Nigeria on the away goal rule when they won 2-0 at the Kumasi Sports Stadium Sunday. Two goals from Udinese midfielder Agyemang Badu and Medeama SC�s Richard Impong enabled the Ghanaians to qualify for the September All Africa Games competition in Maputo, Mozambique. Ghana had lost the first leg 1-3.