Namibia national team head coach Collin Benjamin pointed an accusing finger at the referee following their 1-0 loss to Cameroon in a 2025 AFCON qualifying match played on Saturday night in Cameroon.The tightly contested game was decided by a 65th-minute strike from captain Vincent Aboubakar.The result pushed Cameroon to the top of Group J, while Namibia dropped to the bottom.##NAJAVA_MECA_8322365##Kenya and Zimbabwe had played out a goalless draw a day earlier.In the balance of play, Namibia may feel they deserved something from the game, as they had a similar number of shots (9) as Cameroon, although the Indomitable Lions hit the target more often and saw more of the ball (60%) throughout the game.Firat anticipating tough encounter against Namibia on TuesdayIn his post-match interview, however, coach Benjamin chose to focus on the officiating, which he believes cost his team the win.”I don’t want to talk much about the referees, but I think sometimes we have to be fair,” he said.Without going into detail, Benjamin claimed that some inaccurate decisions tilted the game in favor of the home team.”We have to review certain things. There were elements in this game that were not fair. We need to address these issues and play the game in good spirit, without giving one team an undue advantage. The referees have to do their jobs properly,” he stated.Regarding his team’s performance, he expressed pride in his players, noting that they did everything except score.”We had a very good game, created the better chances, and I am proud of my boys. We played against a good team, but we did very well despite the loss,”Firat faults Senegalese referee for failing to sent off two Zimbabwean playersNamibia now shifts focus to Tuesday’s game against Kenya, which will be played at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.Both teams will be hoping to secure maximum points after disappointing opening matches.Cameroon, on the other hand, will travel to Kampala to play Zimbabwe at Namboole Stadium.
