Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has responded to claims made by his ex-teammate Kevin-Prince Boateng regarding the playing squad’s reluctance to stand up for Boateng when he supposedly fought for the team’s rights against officials from the Ghana Football Association.
Boateng recently discussed his “forgettable” experience with the Ghana national team, especially during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, during an interview with Vibe with Five. The 36-year-old recounted how he and Sulley Muntari were expelled from the team when they stood in solidarity with their teammates, who he believed were not being treated fairly.
However, to Boateng’s disappointment, he claimed that his teammates at the time did not provide support as he received notice to leave the camp on the eve of a crucial match against Portugal.
In response to these claims on social media, Asamoah Gyan, who served as the team captain, emphasized that the team had done its best to defend Boateng. However, the incident that led to Boateng’s dismissal went beyond the team’s control, as it occurred during a confrontation between Boateng and the coach in front of everyone at the training grounds.
According to Gyan, Boateng had disrespected the coach multiple times with his choice of words, and on that day, the coach reached a breaking point. Gyan noted that it was the coach’s decision and that the team had defended Boateng behind the scenes on several occasions.
“Kevin’s case happened at the training grounds between him and the coach in front of everybody. So that was the coach’s decision cos coach felt Kevin disrespected him several times with his choice of words. One thing Kevin didn’t know is we defended him behind the scenes several times. But on that day, the coach couldn’t take it anymore and reacted. That was the first time I saw Kwesi Appiah get angry and react. So Kevin’s case was the coach’s call. That’s the truth as the captain of the team,” Gyan wrote on Twitter.
Ghana ultimately lost their final group stage match to Portugal later that day, which marked the end of their campaign in their third World Cup appearance.
