Edin Dzeko hit out at the referee after Bosnia-Herzegovina were dumped out of the World Cup by Nigeria. The 2-1 defeat to Argentina in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s opening game left them needing at least a draw against the Super Eagles in Cuiabá, but their tournament was ended by a controversial 1-0 defeat.
Players were upset by the official from New Zealand, Peter O’Leary, when the captain Emir Spahic appeared to be fouled by Emmanuel Emenike in the buildup to Peter Odemwingie’s 29th-minute goal. The goal came shortly after Dzeko thought he had broken the deadlock only for the linesman to incorrectly flag for offside.
“The referee was shameful,” he said. “We are going home and we are sad because of that but this referee should be going home too. He changed the result and he changed the game. That’s why we lost.”
“It was obviously a foul on our captain,” he added. “And before when I scored the goal, it was never offside. We fought till the end but we didn’t have luck today.”