Former Ghana International, Sam Johnson claims Michael Essien is not far from right when he says the fallout from the famous Anas Aremeyaw exposé into the corrupt practices of the GFA has vindicated players who were vocal and thus branded trouble makers during the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Speaking to Ghanaweb.com in an interview, Sam Johnson said “I agree with Essien when he says they have been vindicated by the Anas documentary. A lot of the time players don’t like to speak up because they want to protect their jobs and livelihoods.But when someone makes an allegation it is up to the powers that be, including the media to investigate it. All the time they say bring evidence and if you don’t have it then you should shut up. However, when the person making the allegation is a serious minded person, irrespective of whether there is evidence or not it is important to look into the allegation. Now look at what Anas found, we all knew there was corruption in the game but nobody acted on it. Now we have the evidence.”
It will be recalled that during to 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng were expelled from Ghana's camp for alleged indiscipline.
A statement on the Ghana Football Association website at the time said both players had "been suspended indefinitely".
It added Boateng had used "vulgar verbal insults targeted at Coach Kwesi Appiah" and said Muntari was guilty of an "unprovoked physical attack on an executive committee member".
The news came just hours before Ghana were eliminated from the tournament.
The infamous Brazil debacle escalated and came to a head when agitations between the playing body and officials of the Ghana Football Association over bonuses culminated in the airlifting of 3 million dollars from Ghana to Brazil.
Players threatened to boycott the World Cup unless they were paid an appearance fee of $100,000 each.
Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng were subsequently expelled from the team’s camp for alleged physical assault and verbal abuse.
Ghanaians have since struggled to love the senior national team like they did in the past and the lead characters of that Brazil revolt have been chastised immensely but Essien, who was one of the senior members of that squad say time has proved that the players were right after all.
The veteran midfielder believes recent revelations from the Number 12 Documentary bring more meaning to the events Brazil 2014
“What happened in Brazil was not supposed to happen in the first place but it did. Strange men were brought to the team’s camp and we didn’t know who they were. Things happened and that episode is sad, it’s a shame. Maybe with this Anas revelation Ghanaians will understand better what happened" he said.
In conclusion he added that the time had come to move past the issue.
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