Toure: No sympathy for Africa

Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure believes their 'scandalous' Soccer World Cup exit has been overlooked because no-one cares about African teams.

According to the Football411 website, the Elephants' hopes of progressing to the last 16 in Brazil were dashed in their final Group C match against Greece, when a stoppage-time penalty from Georgios Samaras handed the Euro 2004 winners a 2-1 victory.

Ethniki qualified for the knockout phase at the expense of Sabri Lamouchi's side, and Toure criticised the refereeing in the tournament on a whole after claiming that a number of officiating decisions denied the west Africans a historic place in the Round of 16.

The Manchester City midfielder told France Football: "I desperately wanted the referee to spot the simulation of Samaras. Once again, the refereeing was not on our side. We had at least two penalties turned down during our game against Japan.

"And this time, one is invented against Greece. Of course, it does not upset anyone because it only concerns an African team.

"Who really cares about the injustices of an African team? This mistake deprives us of something huge. It is a scandal that unfortunately does not seem to bother many people."