Billionaire industrialist and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, on Thursday announced that he will fulfil his $500,000 pledge to the Super Eagles despite the team’s failure to clinch the Africa Cup of Nations title.

Rabiu disclosed this in a message shared on his official Instagram page, where he applauded the Nigerian team for their resilience, courage and fighting spirit throughout the tournament.

He praised the players for giving their all on the pitch, noting that although the desired outcome was not achieved, they had made Nigerians proud with their performance.

“You fought with your hearts, gave your all, and showed true courage and determination on the pitch. Though it wasn’t meant to be this time, you have made every Nigerian proud,” Rabiu wrote.

Reflecting further, the business mogul noted that outcomes do not always reflect effort, stressing that the spirit, passion and unity displayed by the team were what truly mattered.

“Sometimes, even our best efforts don’t bring the outcome we hope for, but the spirit, passion and unity you displayed are what truly matter.

You left everything on the field, and that is worthy of celebration,” he added.

As a token of appreciation, Rabiu confirmed that he would still honour the $500,000 reward earlier promised to the team, describing it as recognition of their hard work, dedication and the joy they brought to Nigerians during the tournament.

PUNCH Online reported earlier that Rabiu had pledged the cash reward to the Super Eagles ahead of the tournament as part of efforts to motivate the team in their quest for continental glory.

The Super Eagles impressed many Nigerians with their run to the latter stages of the competition but ultimately fell short of lifting the trophy after losing at the semi-finals to Morocco.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Wednesday lost 4–2 in a penalty shootout to host nation Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a tense 0–0 draw at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Rabiu encouraged the players to keep their heads high, expressing confidence that the lessons and experience gained would fuel greater success in future competitions.

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Nigerian football fans have criticised Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea for what they described as biased and poor officiating during the Super Eagles’ semi-final defeat to Morocco on Wednesday night.

Nigeria lost 4-2 on penalties after Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi’s spot-kicks were saved by Yassine Bounou following a goalless draw after extra time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

The Eagles committed 29 fouls compared to Morocco’s 19, yet received two yellow cards while the hosts were not cautioned once, prompting accusations of one-sided officiating.

The Nigeria-Ghana rivalry led many fans to believe the referee had an extra incentive against the three-time champions, with some pointing to historical tensions between both nations.

At a viewing centre in Lagos State where our correspondent watched the match, fans expressed frustration with several of Laryea’s decisions throughout the encounter.

Olakunle Okunbanjo said, “Obviously, he’s been biased. Looking at it, we all expect this home advantage. But it seems he’s been extra biased and has made so many wrong calls.

“Don’t forget, he’s a Ghanaian too, so we expected this based on our rivalry.”

Bernard Daniel added, “He made so many poor decisions against us, maybe because Morocco are the host nation. Too many poor decisions against us.

“Even during the extra time, the commentators have been confused about the call he made, especially the corner kick he decided was a goal kick during the Victor Osimhen incident.”

Many screams were made at the viewing centre when each contentious call went against Nigeria.

On X, fans vented their anger at the officiating. Roweazy Zetarium posted a picture of Laryea with the caption, “The worst referee in AFCON 26.”

Another user, Oby, (@Just__Oby) wrote, “God punish that referee, but before God, men go first punish am!”

Abimbola Oyediran said, “The referee was very biased in most of the infringements awarded against Lookman and other attackers upfront.”

Another fan (@machinche_250) admitted that Morocco were better, but he called the referee useless, writing, “Though the Moroccans were the better side, but you see that Ghanaian referee, that man was very useless with most of his calls.”

One user (@ade_mummy) questioned why Morocco received no yellow cards throughout the match, writing, “At some point I was asking my husband whether it is possible for a referee not to have any cards on him.”

Particular criticism was directed at the yellow card shown to Calvin Bassey, which will see him miss the third-place play-off.

A fan, Ìléríolúwa (@Ilerioluwakiye_), addressed the foul that got Bassey a yellow card, which sees him miss the Eagles’ next game.

“How will a referee give yellow card to someone they pulled his shirt? I still don’t understand,” he said.

The Confederation of African Football had appointed Laryea to take charge of the high-profile encounter, with the 38-year-old handling his second fixture of the tournament.

Laryea’s only previous appearance at the finals came during the group stage in December, when he officiated Burkina Faso’s 1-0 defeat to Algeria in Group E.

The FIFA-listed referee was supported by assistant referees Zakhele Siwela of South Africa, Souru Phatsoane of Lesotho and Arsenio Maringule of Mozambique, while Samuel Uwikunda served as fourth official.

Video Assistant Referee duties were overseen by Abongile Tom of South Africa, with Haythem Guirat of Tunisia and Stephen Onyango Yiembe of Kenya acting as assistant VAR officials.

Laryea has been a FIFA-listed international referee since 2014 and is a regular official in the Ghana Premier League. His experience includes officiating at the African Nations Championship, the AFCON, and the CAF Women’s Champions League.

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Nigeria’s Super Eagles saw their remarkable Africa Cup of Nations scoring run come to an end after being held to a goalless draw by hosts Morocco at the 2025 tournament, before suffering a 4-2 defeat in a penalty shoot-out, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The stalemate marked the first time Nigeria had failed to score at AFCON since their round of 16 exit against Tunisia in 2021, bringing to a close a sequence of 12 consecutive matches in which they had found the net at the continent’s biggest football event.

The last time the Super Eagles were blanked at AFCON was in Garoua, Cameroon, when Youssef Msakni’s goal secured a 1-0 victory for Tunisia in January 2021.

Since then, Nigeria had embarked on their longest scoring streak in the history of their AFCON participation, scoring consistently across two tournaments and establishing a reputation for efficiency and variety in attack.

The run began at the 2023 finals with a 1-1 group-stage draw against Equatorial Guinea, where Victor Osimhen scored Nigeria’s opener, and continued with a 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, sealed by William Troost-Ekong’s penalty.

An own goal from Opa Sanganté secured victory against Guinea-Bissau, before Ademola Lookman struck twice in a 2-0 round of 16 win over Cameroon.

Lookman was again decisive in the quarter-final against Angola, scoring the only goal, while Troost-Ekong converted another penalty in the semi-final draw with South Africa, a match Nigeria eventually won on penalties.

Despite taking the lead through Troost-Ekong in the final against Ivory Coast, the Super Eagles were denied the title as Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller scored in the 62nd and 81st minutes to hand the hosts a 2-1 victory. Even in defeat, Nigeria’s scoring sequence remained intact.

That trend carried into the 2025 tournament in Morocco as Nigeria opened with a 2-1 win over Tanzania in Fez, with Semi Ajayi and Lookman on target, before edging Tunisia 3-2 thanks to goals from Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Lookman.

A 3-1 victory over Uganda followed, with Paul Onuachu opening the scoring and Raphael Onyedika netting twice, while the round of 16 brought a commanding 4-0 win over Mozambique, featuring goals from Lookman, Osimhen, Akor Adams and another Osimhen strike.

The quarter-final against Algeria in Marrakesh extended the streak to 12 matches, as Osimhen and Adams scored in a 2-0 win that took Nigeria’s goal tally for the tournament to 14.

That figure also represents the highest number of goals the Super Eagles have ever scored at a single AFCON edition, equalling the mark set by Cameroon and leaving them two short of the record 16 goals scored by Ivory Coast in 2008.

The goalless draw against Morocco not only ended the scoring run but also halted another landmark sequence, with Nigeria having scored at least two goals in each of their previous five matches at the tournament, the first time they had achieved such a feat at AFCON.

It was also only the second time in their history that the Super Eagles had scored in five consecutive matches at a single edition, the first being in 2000.

While the historic consecutive streak has now ended, Nigeria still have the opportunity to equal Ivory Coast’s record of 16 goals when they face Egypt in the third-place match on Saturday.

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