Black Satellites assistant coach, Yaw Preko, insists Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuije should be blamed for his side's exit from the 20th edition of the AYC in Zambia.

According to the former Black Stars winger, recent bribery allegation by the Sports Ministry that the Ghana FA paid a sum of $700,000 as bribes to referees to aid their qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup made the referees to be extra cautious during the match.

During the game, Togolese center referee Kouassi Attiogbe refused to hand Ghana two clear penalty opportunities, prompting complaints from fans.

“For a very important match for the nation and bribery case is all around, definitely, if I were the referee I will be straight without any favour to the home team, because eyes will be watching”, Preko told Starr Sports.

“We all saw it, there were some penalties which should have gone our way, but what can you say, it's really difficult,” he added.

The teams which have qualified for the competition are Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Sudan, Egypt, South Africa, Cameroon and host Zambia.

The final tournament is scheduled for 26 February to 12 March 2017, where the semi-finalists will represent Africa at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic next May.