Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has spoken on the real reason why Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakin refused to give Nigeria a

Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has spoken on the real reason why Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakin refused to give Nigeria a second penalty in Tuesday’s game against Argentina. According to Mikel, the referee admitted that the ball touched the hand of Marcos Rojo in the 82nd minute of Tuesday’s game but he put up a defense in not awarding the crucial spot-kick. The penalty, if awarded and scored at a time the match was 1-1, could have wrapped up a second round ticket for the Eagles.

Speaking at the post-match briefing in St Petersburg, Mikel said:”I asked the referee if he thought the ball struck Rojo’s hand and he said ‘yes;. The referee told me that the ball came off Rojo’s head before it hit his hand.”

“When the ball touches your hand in the penalty box, it’s a penalty. No two ways about that. Maybe he didn’t want to give us the second penalty. It is sad we had to exit the competition this way.”