Controversial sports stories of 2019

From Seidu threatening to beat then Kotoko coach CK Akunnor to the $100,000 dollar payment Kofi Amoah made to lawyer Frank Davies, 2019 had its fair share of very contentious stories that stole the headlines and dominated the media space for days and weeks.

While the on-field performance of various national teams and athletes were far from impressive, the off-field issues blew up big and took centre stage in discussions on traditional and social media.

As we wind up a very disappointing year for Ghana sports, ghanaweb.com brings you a compilation of some stories and scandals that sent tongues wagging and generated heated arguments across the various media platforms.

Seidu threatens to beat Kotoko

A hoodlum whose activities have been legitimized by influential figures in Kotoko, Seidu struck once again and similar to previous shenanigans a Kotoko coach was at the receiving end of his buffoonery.

In the aftermath of their 1-1 drawn game with Ashgold in the JA Kuffour Cup, Seidu went public with his intentions of beating CK Akunnor.

Kotoko were thus compelled to secure their training grounds with personnel from the Ghana police service to prevent Seidu from attacking Akunnor.

The duo later made peace after Akunnor masterminded a Kotoko victory against Coton Sport Garoua in the CAF Confederation Cup.

But the issue resurrected conversations about how the club has over the years allowed thugs like Seidu to have their way with some actions which under normal circumstances should land them in the grips of the police.

Kwesi Appiah gives KP Boateng a lifeline

Any story about Kevin Prince Boateng and the Black Stars evokes emotions. Kevin divides opinions among Ghanaians.

While others believe that the doors to the national team should be opened to him whenever he feels ready, others including Kwabena Yeboah don’t want him anywhere near the team.

Following his shocking move to Barcelona, there were suggestions that he could find his way into the Black Stars and the topic was brought before Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah who said he will give him a call up should he apologise.

“This issue has got to do with the White Paper of the Dzamefe Commission. They were asked to apologize to the nation before they can be invited to the national team. I have said that he is a good player because when I took over the national team he was playing for Sassuolo. I have also said that if he takes the step to apologize I will have the opportunity to invite him”.

Media platforms jumped on this and the discourse span more than a week. Opinions were sharply divided along pro-Kevin and anti-Kevin lines.

Kwabena Yeboah, the president of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana said “People forget that if you are constituting a team, it is not about how best you can play alone but you need collective discipline. There is no way I would say Kevin Prince Boateng should be called upon again. Sulley Muntari has always been faithful to the National team but has never turned his back on us, perhaps his temperament will be the problem. However, I will vouch for Sulley Muntari and forgo K.P Boateng." Kwabena Yeboah said on Joy FM.

The window for the apology elapsed and as expected KP Boateng failed to heed to Kwesi Appiah’s conditions and was left out of the 2019 AFCON.

He however mocked the team after they were kicked out of the tournament.

“No Prince, No Party” he tweeted.



Athletes demand per diems

Another day, another national team assignment, another cry over unpaid bonuses.

Some athletes who represented the country at the 2019 World Championships in Doha were forced to embark on a social media campaign to have their per diems paid them by the Sports Ministry.

Each athlete was entitled to $100 per day for both competitions which spans 17 days in total.

A member of the relay team, Fling Owusu Agyapong literally had to beg the Ministry to release the funds. The Ministry confirmed owing them but assured that steps were being taken to settle the athletes

Asamoah Gyan divorce, kids DNA brouhaha

From when GhanaWeb broke the news to when the results of the DNA were made public, the public’s eye was always on Asamoah Gyan.

The ‘Shatta Wale’ of football you may describe him. The controversies around the footballer keep coming year after year.

In February 2019, it emerged that the DNA test conducted on the children of Asamoah Gyan and Gifty Gyan upon the instruction of the player proved that he is the father of the three kids.

Ghanaians did not spare him after news of the result got into the public space. Gyan was heavily criticized and his brother Baffour who according to rumours influenced him to take the ‘unwise decision’ was also served.



Gyan stripped of captaincy

Ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, everything seemed normal until one Sunday evening, Asamoah Gyan released a statement, declaring his retirement from the Black Stars.

Gyan’s seven-year captaincy was brought to an end by Kwesi Appiah and he was not going down without staging a show.

For the umpteenth time, the former Sunderland man announced his retirement citing the decision to strip him of the captaincy as the reason.

His PRO in separate interviews cast aspersions and insinuations at coach Kwesi Appiah which were met with equal fire by some people close to the coach.

The magnitude of the issue forced the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to intervene and convince Gyan to rescind his earlier decision.

The striker heeded to the president’s words and joined the team to the AFCON.

Player misbehavior, Fans stranded at 2019 AFCON

Citi FM’s Godfred Akoto Boafo described it as a ‘mini Brazil’. Ghana’s failure to draw lessons from previous experiences was highlighted once again as the nation against recommendations of the Dzamefe Commission airlifted supporters to the 2019 AFCON which was held in Egypt.

The Sports Ministry who sent the supporters to the Egypt could not account for the number of people who flew to the North African country and it has been rumoured that the inability of Elvis Agyei-Baah to defend the embattled Ministry on that topic led to his transfer from the Ministry to the Information Service Department.

Players of the Black Stars were also reported to have engaged in various acts which affected their output on the field.

Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey was said to have flown his girlfriend to the team’s camp contrary to the rules laid by coach Kwesi Appiah.

Later, the Sports Ministry said that the country spent a 4.5 million on the AFCON.

The ‘outrageous’ expenditure which have been justified by the Minister was condemned by some Ghanaians.

Kwesi Appiah sacks backroom staff

While Ghanaians were pondering over the wastage in Egypt, Kwesi Appiah who according to many should be fired for the team’s poor performance was also lobbying the NC and Ministry to fire some members of his backroom.

He succeeded in getting Ibrahim Tanko sacked but Stephen Appiah and Olele managed to keep their jobs.

According to reports, Tanko and Appiah fell out at the AFCON due to disagreements on tactics. Also, Tanko allegedly tried to get the NC to axe Kwesi Appiah so that he could be head coach.

Palmer’s disqualification from the GFA Elections

It was shocking and huge. A frontrunner for the GFA Elections was disqualified from contesting the elections after going through a vetting process.

Wilfred Osei Kwaku known in the football circles was declared ineligible to stand for the elections following “breach of Article 33(5) (c) of the GFA General Regulations and Decision of the Ethics Committee dated the 13th December 2017.”

Palmer appealed the decision but it was rejected. He, however, sent it to CAF and the issue is still pending.



100k dollar payment by Kofi Amoah

The last controversial story of the year. Dr Kofi Amoah after receiving $1million dollars ‘arbitration fee’ from telecommunication company Glo paid $100,000 dollars to a lawyer who he claims masterminded the payment.

The reaction to this story was that of anger which resulted in a club owner calling Kofi Amoah a ‘thief’.

He however returned the money following an order by the Executive Council of the GFA.