What referee Çakır told Mikel after not giving Rojo handball is not good for Football

Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi is adamant his side was robbed by the referee’s decision to not give Nigeria a second penalty in their 2-1 loss to Argentina on Tuesday.

The Tianjin TEDA midfielder who forced the referee to consult the VAR after Marcos Rojo nodded Ahmed Musa’s cross to his arm revealed that referee Cüneyt Çakır admitted that the ball was an hand ball but wouldnt be giving Nigeria a penalty for no particular reason.

“It was a clear penalty for me.

“If you look at the Portugal game yesterday, this wasn’t close to that. This was worse.

“We have seen it again in the dressing room. It was a clear handball.

“The referee looked at the VAR. He said it hit the hand. I asked why he didn’t give the penalty, but he said he didn’t know.”

Nigeria should feel hard done as penalty had been awarded in this tournament for similar play, most recently in the 1-1 between Portugal and Iran as Mikel alluded.