Moses Simon blames referee for Super Eagles loss to Algeria

Super Eagles winger Moses Simon has put the blame for Nigeria's friendly loss to Algeria on an unlikely source.

The Jose Peseiro-led side fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Desert Foxes of Algeria on Tuesday night after Riyad Mahrez and Youcef Atal cancelled out Terem Moffi's 9th-minute opener.

The loss is Nigeria's third consecutive defeat to the Algerian national team in three years after losses in the semifinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and a 2020 friendly.

The Super Eagles had a couple of officiating calls go against them after the referee cancelled an Ademola Lookman goal in the first half for offside in the build-up.

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Simon, who was captain of the Super Eagles on the night, called out the referee for not being just in his officiating of the game held at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran, Algeria.

"Actually the game did not go the way we planned it. But it's part of the job because we learn every day. And I believe we will pick a lot from it. We all know that the referee did not give us justice," Simon said as reported by BrilaFM.

However, the Nantes winger stressed that despite the officiating and the game not going as planned, Peseiro urged the team to keep giving their all during the match. 

Simon said: "But then the coach said we should forget about it and keep fighting. We just need to encourage and motivate ourselves because we play for pride, we play for our family and the Nigerian fans. I believe we did our best but it did not go as planned."

The Super Eagles have now lost three (3) games, won two (2) and drew one (1) in Peseiro's first six matches as coach of the Nigerian national team.