Former Asante Kotoko coach Isaac Boateng (Opeele) has responded to revelations made by former Black Stars Committee member Ernest Thompson.
In an interview, Thompson claimed that eight players who pulled out of the Black Stars squad for the Angola and Niger games did so because the captaincy was given to Jordan Ayew.
Head Coach Otto Addo, ahead of these games, had reversed his earlier decision to make Mohammed Kudus the captain, opting to hand the armband to Jordan Ayew.
Days before Ghana’s must-win games, the Ghana Football Association released a list of players who had withdrawn from the squad due to injuries.
However, Thompson revealed in an interview with JoySports that the players withdrew not because of injuries, but because Jordan Ayew was made captain.
Opeele, however, has come to Jordan Ayew’s defense. In a tweet on X, the former coach questioned the credibility of some of the players who allegedly left the squad due to Jordan being made captain.
In the tweet, Opeele asked if these players’ fathers had ever played and captained the Black Stars, indirectly highlighting that Jordan’s father, Abedi Ayew, had both played for and captained Ghana’s senior national team.
He also questioned the validity of the report, suggesting it might have been a joke.
Watch Otto Addo’s heated discussion with a journalist during the post-match press conference via the video below
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