Tunisian media personality and sports critic Wael Fattoush strongly criticized the justifications of some Algerian media outlets following Algeria's defeat against Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, considering that blaming the referee for the loss is an escape from facing the technical truth of what happened on the field.
In notable posts on social media, Fattoush questioned the logic of accusing the refereeing, saying that the referee cannot be the reason for an entire team playing 90 minutes without a single shot on goal, nor for giving the opponent complete possession or scoring two goals for them, stressing that the weak performance is the most prominent reason for the defeat. Fattoush confirmed that the Nigerian team was the better and stronger team throughout the match and deserved to qualify with merit, pointing out a clear difference in level between the two teams, which is normal in football and does not carry any fault, calling for recognition of the technical superiority instead of searching for external excuses. The speaker recalled the experience of the Tunisian national team, explaining that when Tunisia lost to Nigeria, it recognized the opponent's superiority, and also accepted the exit against Mali despite the refereeing controversy, because the performance was not at the required level, concluding his stance by emphasizing that a sound mentality is based on admitting defeat when you are not the best, not blaming the referee.
