Karavaiev believes the penalty should not have been given by Italian official, Paolo Valeri.
Although television replays suggested otherwise, the Dynamo Kiev player argued that Kalu crashed into him and wasn’t fouled.
“The episode from the penalty … I stopped, did not put up a foot, nothing – he just hit me,” Karavaiev was quoted as saying by Football.ua.
“The referee gave a penalty in favor of the attacker, this is his decision. Next time I’ll play more carefully, I’ll work on mistakes.
“The mood after the match is good, because we showed character, created a lot of moments in the second half and could win the match. They did not give up, showed their game and achieved a draw.”
Nigeria established a two-goal lead by the 34th minute courtesy of goals from Joe Aribo and Victor Osimhen, but the match ended in a draw after the hosts scored twice in the second half.
