Carlos Queiroz lambasts referee who sent him off during AFCON semi-final

Egypt manager Carlos Queiroz has hit out at the referee who officiated his side’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Cameroon.

Neither side had the advantage by the end of extra-time in a tense match. There were only four shots on target in the entire game, and none of them ended up with a goal.

Therefore, a penalty shootout was required. Vincent Aboubakar stepped up and scored Cameroon’s first penalty before Zizo converted Egypt’s opening spot-kick.

Read: Shania Twain trends on Twitter after Vincent Aboubakar disses Mohamed Salah

It was Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski who was the hero. He saved two Cameroon penalties before former Tottenham striker Clinton N’Jie hit the post. Egypt, therefore, progressed to the final, having scored all three of their penalties. They will take on Senegal.

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However, they will have to do so without manager Carlos Queiroz on the touchline.

What happened to Carlos Queiroz?

With the game approaching the 90-minute mark, the Portuguese coach was shown a yellow card by referee Bakary Gassama.

Two minutes later, there was a confrontation between Egypt winger Ramadan Sobhi and Cameroon’s Nouhou Tolo. The linesman had to intervene.

The live TV cameras then cut to Queiroz, who had to be pulled away from the referee on the touchline. He had been shown a red card, and made his feelings clear.

An animated Queiroz began to shout in the face of the official, at which point a member of his coaching staff restrained him. The protestations continued before the 68-year-old eventually walked away. The incident, however, was an ugly end to the semi-final.

Queiroz speaks out against referee

After the game had concluded, Queiroz had several choice words for the referees and the AFCON organisers – and also made an allegation towards Gassama.

He claimed (quotes as per GOAL): “Once again, with regret, they send this type of referees to a game of this level, referees with no experience, no level, wanting to put on a show.

“It started in the dressing room. We hadn’t started the game yet and he comes to the locker room to intimidate our staff.”

He then alleged: “We are Egypt. How can this referee, after what he has done in the past, be in the African Cup of Nations? Who understands this? Nobody.”

The reason Queiroz’s latter comments are notable is because the Egyptian Football Association filed a complaint against the appointment of Gassama as referee before the game kicked off.

The Gambian referee officiated the side’s 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in the competition’s group stage. Gassama did reject a penalty appeal from Egypt, although it appears there were no other decisions of particular note. He is one of the continent’s top referees, having officiated at two World Cups.

It is unclear whether Queiroz was referring to that decision with his comments.

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Whether Carlos Queiroz receives a further ban for his comments remains to be seen. As it stands, he will be away from the touchline for two matches.

Featured Image Credit: Getty