Nigeria's players continued their fierce criticism of Egyptian referee Ghead Grisha on Saturday, still unhappy with the penalty which defending champion Zambia converted in the African Cup of Nations match for a 1-1 draw.
Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama claimed the decision to penalize Ogenyi Onazi for a foul near the edge of the area in Friday's match was ''the worst penalty award I have ever seen in my entire football career.''
In a statement from the team on Saturday, defender Onazi said the Confederation of African Football ''should please tell them (referees) to stop killing African football.''
Defender Azubuike Egwueke said tournament organizer CAF ''should help us plead with the referees to be fair to the team.''
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi claimed his team had also been treated unfairly in its opening game against Burkina Faso. Nigeria defender Efe Ambrose was sent off for two yellow card offenses, before Burkina Faso scored an equalizer in stoppage time.
''I want people to be able to judge themselves, but we had terrible officiating in the first game where we had five yellow cards plus a red card and our opponent had one single yellow card,'' Keshi said.
Nigeria meets Ethiopia in its final group game on Tuesday, when only victory will guarantee it a place in the quarterfinals.
