Popular Ghanaian Footballer assaults journalist

A popular Ghana National football player Baffour Gyan has been arrested by the police for assaulting a journalist with Ghana’s leading news paper, graphic. Baffour Gyan is the brother of Ghana’s black star Captain Asamoah Gyan. The reporter, Daniel Kenu, at a press conference few days ago in Kumasi asked Asamoah Agyan if the rumor about him using his friend for rituals is really true.

One of Ghana’s popular Musician Theophilus Tagoe popularly called Castro and a female friend went missing at a resort on 6 July 2014 in Ada, in greater Accra Region of Ghana. Castro and Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan were at Aqua Safari, a beach resort for recreation when Castro and one Janet Bandu fell off their jet ski and got drown in the Ada river, the body of the two have since not been found.

This development has left many Ghanaians speculating. There were rumors that Asamoah Agyan used his friend to pacify his gods

The black stars are in Ghana town of Kumasi to play against Uganda on September 5 and will take on the Hawks the following weekend in Lome in the qualification to the 30th edition of AFCON. The AFCON qualification will be played from 17 January through to 8 February 2015 in Morocco. Winners and runners-up of each group plus the third-best team will join hosts Morocco for the final tournament.

At a meet the press session a journalist with Graphic news paper asked Asamoah Gyan “did you truly used your friend, Castro for rituals as being rumored around” This question brought tears down. It took the intervention of Coach Kwesi Appiah to condemn the journalist’s question and to boost morale. The journalist was asked to leave the conference after that gratuitous question at that particular hour. I was reliably informed morale dropped to zero at the moment the question hit the captain; personally I think the question was way below the belt, taking into consideration the task ahead of the stars.

This question did not go down well with the brother of Asamoah Gyan, who is also a footballer. After this incident, the journalist went to pick his accreditation to cover the match and was assaulted in the process by Baffour Gyan in the company of some heavily built muscle men, popularly known in Ghana as ‘Matcho’ men.

Police confirmed arrest

The Ashanti Regional police public relation officer, ASP Mohammed Tanko confirmed the arrest to Afrika Mbui. ASP tanko said, the player has been asked to write his statement of what really happened. Meanwhile the accused and the complainant have both refused to comment on the incident when Afrika Mbui contacted them.

Before this development

The euphoria that characterizes the black stars arrival in Kumasi is something that can never be underestimated. But this time the stars were left on their own without the normal jubilant welcome that the players enjoy in the Ashanti region.

Some enthusiastic supporters at their own expense would organize buses to meet the stars at the Kumasi airport; no doubt these supporters are always willing to sacrifice anything to catch a glimpse of their male protagonists. Sports enthusiasts would previously hire brass band and local drummers to dance and bask into the adulation of the moment. The stars on the other hand will with no hesitation join in, in an ecstatic lucid of sanity.

It’s very astonishing that the black stars that arrived at the Kumasi airport were stranded without knowing where to go till their bus pulled up. Individual players were seen leaning against the walls of the airport down in the dumps. It was very surprising that, airport officials didn’t know the stars would be arriving in Kumasi when a few journalists who were at the airport inquired. Many have attributed this treatment of the stars to their Abysmal performance at the world cup, which I believe is of no doubt.

Usually the regional minister and other prominent people would meet them at the airport with a jubilant crowd cheering them up but that was missing as well.

This is the time the players need the support of its sports loving public, but it looks like they have been left high and dry

Others are not happy because of the amount of money given to the players when the country was and currently is going through a financial hassle, coupled with the airlifting of this huge amount of 3 million cedis to the players in Brazil which attracted the attention of international press and the embarrassment it brought upon the country.

Some think that the behavior of the team officials and the sports minister which resulted in blows leading to the sacking of some players from the camp is one of the reasons why people are losing interest in the stars.

What I called the most embarrassing of all, are two events that have taken place in Kumasi when the stars arrived. One is when the players at a training session, were booed at, to the extent that the captain, Asamoah Gyan had to beg the supporters to stop. Many people on the street of Kumasi were hauling all sorts of insults on the players when they arrived in town

I sought the opinions of a few people on the Ghana versus Uganda match have predicted Ghana to mislay,  others personal outlook is that the stars should not qualify to the AFCON so that the country will save money in its current economic difficulty

The big question is; are people losing confidence in our team? I pray the team management and the sports ministry will look at this and save the stars from losing the fervent support from the public.

Joseph Osei Oppong Brenya, Ghana

Osei2000@gmail.com