Arhinful calls for calm

Former national team striker Augustine Arhinful has advised Ghanaian soccer fans to put aside issues and debates emanating from the release of Ghana's final squad for the World Cup and focus on supporting the team to success.

Arhinful says there was always going to be disappointment because a certain number of players were always going to be dropped from the provisional 30-man list. "What we should do in future is to make sure we take the right number of players to camp because it is not easy for anyone to accept that they have been dropped.

"We should name the 23 players right from start but what has happened has already happened and what we must do now as a nation is to get behind the coach and the team because they are playing for us," Arhinful told Asempa FM in Accra.

Midfielder Laryea Kingston and 2006 World Cup scorer Haminu Dramani were the biggest scalps to be excluded from Ghana's 23-man squad for South Africa.

It got so heated up Laryea who apparently couldn't take it after also missing the biggest competition in world football 4 years ago, reportedly threatened to attack the coach, something Ghanaian football officials have come out to deny.

Arhinful has come to the defence of Laryea insisting that anybody in the position of the former Hearts of Oak star could have done worse.

The hero of Ghana's silver medal success at Australia 1993 U-20 World Cup even recalls a simliar incident after the 18 players for that competition were named minus certain key players. "It's not easy at all for anybody to accept this situation.

"I remember Sebastien Barnes was dropped after being in camp with us and he was also without doubt one of our best players. He took it very badly but we all understood him because it is a difficult situation.

The GFA of course have come out to deny that Laryea attacked the coach but whatever happened, we should sympathise with Laryea, understand and forgive him, because it is not easy," Arhinful stated.