Harambee Stars lose 1-0 at Guinea as McCarthy blames the referee

Harambee Stars lost 1-0 to Guinea in Conakry on 1 October in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, with Serhou Guirassy scoring in the 32nd minute. Coach Benni McCarthy said afterwards that the goal should not have stood.

The match was played at the Stade du 28 Septembre, according to Citizen Digital. Kenya, who have not won in the qualifying campaign, have one point from two Group D games.

What McCarthy said

McCarthy argued that a foul in the build-up to Guinea's goal went unpunished. "I think the referee didn't have a good day today because if you watched the match, it was very one-sided and especially for the goal, he was looking at the foul that happened and completely ignored it and allowed the goal to stand," he said, as quoted by Pulse Sports.

Capital FM quoted him as saying: "The referee was incompetent and he was very arrogant." Both outlets report that he said the goal would have been disallowed where video review (VAR) is used; Pulse Sports quotes him: "If there was VAR, in South Africa or Morocco, a high-level match, the goal would have been disallowed." These are the coach's claims; none of the reports cited carries a response from the match officials or CAF, and the incident could not be independently verified.

McCarthy also pointed to his own side's shortcomings. "Unfortunately in the final third, we lacked a bit experience," he told Capital FM. He told Pulse Sports that "Guinea were very fortunate that we didn't make use of the opportunities that we created" and that if Kenya had some of Guinea's experience, "maybe it would have been a different situation because we created some nerve-wracking moments for them." Capital FM also quoted him saying: "People expected us to lose by three or four or five."

Why the qualifiers still matter

Kenya are already in the 2027 finals as co-hosts with Uganda and Tanzania. CAF's preview of the group explains the catch: "Under the competition regulations, only the highest-placed team other than Kenya will join them at the finals."

That effectively leaves South Africa and Guinea fighting for the single qualifying place. Pulse Sports lists the Group D table after the match as South Africa on 6 points, Guinea 3, Kenya 1 and Eritrea 1. For Kenya the games count for pride, ranking and preparation rather than a place at the tournament.

The campaign has also been disrupted off the pitch. Before the opening qualifier, a 1-1 draw with Eritrea at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on 26 September, players had gone on strike over unpaid allowances, according to a SportPesa blog report that describes "a prolonged week of striking"; the team trained only once before the match. McCarthy said then that "the lack of preparation kind of showed out there today because we weren't as clinical as we wanted to be."

What happens next

Kenya play a double-header against South Africa in November, Capital FM reports; the report does not give the dates.