Mahrez refuses to place blame on refereeing
Riyad Mahrez, the captain of the Algerian national team, commented on the controversy surrounding the performance of the referees after the “Desert Warriors” lost 2-0 to Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations (Morocco 2025).
After the match, Mahrez spoke calmly and composedly, refusing to hold the referee responsible for the “Greens” elimination, and admitting the superiority of the Nigerian team in the match.
The Al-Ahli Saudi star said: “We faced a strong team, and we could certainly have performed better. We can always talk about plans, and replay the match in our minds, but in the end they played better than us, and that’s football.”
Regarding the refereeing, he explained: “The referee was not perfect, but that is not the reason for our loss. In football, there is always talk about referees, but the result is decided on the field.”
It is worth noting that Mahrez, the former star of Manchester City, was one of the most prominent players who contributed to Algeria’s victory in the 2019 African Cup of Nations, when they defeated Senegal in the final match held in Cairo with a score of (1-0).
