{"id":396998,"date":"2017-06-29T11:54:41","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T11:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/06\/29\/kwesi-appiah-accuses-referee-of-using-f-word-against-player-in-friendly\/"},"modified":"2017-06-29T11:54:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T11:54:41","slug":"kwesi-appiah-accuses-referee-of-using-f-word-against-player-in-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/06\/29\/kwesi-appiah-accuses-referee-of-using-f-word-against-player-in-friendly\/","title":{"rendered":"Kwesi Appiah accuses referee of using f-word against player in friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kwesi Appiah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ghana coach James Kwesi Appiah was frustrated after his side\u2019s 1-0 defeat to Mexico in a friendly Wednesday, but it wasn\u2019t the result that seemed to bother him most.<\/p>\n

The coach accused referee Baldomero Toledo of using profanity toward one of his players and also questioned why organizers assigned a Mexican-American official to oversee a game involving the Mexican national team.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking about the referee, I was really, really shocked that in a game like this they would allow a Mexican to be the center ref when we were playing (against) Mexico,\u201d Kwesi Appiah said in his post-match news conference. \u201cI\u2019m really, really surprised. I never knew about it until after the game. I heard that he was a Mexican-American. I mean, it doesn\u2019t make any difference. If you\u2019re Mexican, you\u2019re Mexican.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn top of that also, his behavior on the pitch. The surprising thing, you know, he used the f-word against one of my players. This is something that modern days, we don\u2019t need such reactions from a referee. I don\u2019t know who organized it but because there are so many referees in the America here, I\u2019m surprised that someone from Mexico should handle a Mexico game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toledo, who grew up in Mexico but came to the United States as a young man, according to an interview he gave to a referee website , is listed as American by FIFA and has called games in MLS since 2004 and has been a FIFA referee since 2007.<\/p>\n

Ghana now heads to East Hartford, Connecticut, to face the U.S. in a friendly, while Mexico\u2019s first unit will play in the Confederations Cup semifinals against Germany on Thursday with the second unit facing Paraguay on Saturday before beginning Gold Cup play.