Former Premier League referee, Mike Dean is one of many football personalities and fans who have expressed questioned the penalty awarded to Portugal by referee Ismail Elfath in their game against the Black Stars of Ghana on November 24, 2022.

Ismail Elfath pointed to the spot after Cristiano Ronaldo dramatically went down after a clash with Ghana’s Mohammed Salisu.

Despite protestations by the Ghanaian players for the referee to review the incident via the Video Assistant Referee, Ismail Elfath persisted with his first decision which allowed Ronaldo to score from the spot.

Analyzing the incident on BEIN Sport, Mike Dean said that the actions of referees on the day is indefensible.

Mike Dean who understood the decision of the on-field referee said that the referees operating the VAR should have asked him to have another look at the decision.

“That looked like a penalty from the referee’s angle and I can understand why he took it. The issue is the new thing in now which is VAR which you think to get the referee out of trouble.

“From the angle we’ve seen, the defender clearly clears the ball. Ronaldo then touches the back of the referee and instigates the contact. It’s not the referee’s fault because he gave the decision on the field of play but the VAR in my opinion should have gotten involved and invited the referee over. It is scary I’ve to say. I’m just astounded.

“I like to support referees all the time but you can't defend stuff like that. For me, it should have been an obvious error. He should have gone to the screen and looked at it. That was 100% wrong,” he said.

The Black Stars lost their opening Group H game 3-2 to Portugal at Stadium 974 on Thursday, November 25, 2022.

The first Portuguese goal which was a penalty has reportedly triggered a petition to FIFA to investigate the conduct of the referee.