'Why don’t we have VAR in AFCON competitions?' - Carlos Queiroz questions CAF after Black Stars defeat to Côte d’Ivoire

Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has questioned the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the absence of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers following Ghana’s defeat to Côte d’Ivoire.

Queiroz’s side suffered a defeat against the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire in their Group C qualifier.

In the 55th minute, Malick Yalcouyé stormed into Ghana’s penalty area, outran the defenders, and was brought down by Fatawu Issahaku, resulting in a penalty being awarded to Côte d’Ivoire.

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However, replays appeared to show only minimal contact between Issahaku and Yalcouyé, leading to questions over whether the incident warranted a penalty. With VAR unavailable, the referee’s decision could not be reviewed.

Speaking after the match, the Black Stars coach expressed his frustration and called on CAF to introduce VAR for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.

“Why don’t we have VAR in an Africa Cup of Nations competition? Which example do we want to give to the world? The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are for the biggest competition on the continent, and we don’t have VAR to help the referee make the game fair.

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“Why don’t we have VAR in Africa? What is the reason we don’t have VAR in a single Africa Cup of Nations qualifier? I was born in Mozambique, I grew up here, and I’m tired of this situation where referees don’t do a good job.”

Queiroz further expressed his concerns about refereeing standards and the impact of officiating decisions on matches.

The Black Stars will have an opportunity to respond to the defeat when they face Côte d’Ivoire in the return fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, with Ghana hoping to secure a positive result.