Ghana legend, Asamoah Gyan has slammed Referee Ismael Elfath for his decision to award a penalty to Portugal.

After an impressive performance from Black Stars in the first half, the American referee awarded a penalty to Portugal after Mohammed Salisu challenged Ronaldo for a 50-50 ball in the 18-yard box of Ghana.

Although replays showed that the Ghanaian got a touch on the ball and despite calls for VAR review, Elfath stood by his decision.

Ronaldo beautifully converted the spot kick to break the deadlock as the Portuguese went ahead to record a 3-2 win over Ghana.

Speaking after the game, Gyan, who has played in three different World Cups criticized the decision of the referee.

"The penalty decision was poor and soft," Gyan said on SuperSport.

"I am a striker but what we saw was soft and should not be a penalty," he added.

The win takes Portugal top of the group but the 0-0 draw between South Korea and Uruguay earlier in the day means today’s loss might not prove to be too costly for the Black Stars.

Ghana will hope to secure their first win when they come up against South Korea on Monday at the Education City Stadium with kick-off scheduled at 13:00GMT.