Hearts of Oak star Malik Akowuah denies puffing shisha

Accra Hearts of Oak top star Malik Akowuah has spoken for the first time since his smoking scandal, insisting he was only examining the shisha pipe after seeing the instrument for the first time.

The midfielder is facing an angry backlash after pictures emerged of him holding the shisha pipe in the company of some friends.

Hearts have vowed the investigate the matter saying the player has violated the team,'s code of conduct if he indeed was engaged in smoking the substance.

However the player has denied engaging in smoking insisting it was his first sight of the instrument in his life.

"I didn't know what it was so was only taking a look at a friend's party," Akowuah told Nhyira FM on Tuesday.

Hearts were rocked with a new scandal after the key was pictured with the shisha pipe in the moment of deep crisis facing the Accra-based side.

The crisis in the giant Ghanaian club hit new low when, Akowuah, a key player was pictured smoking shisha in the conservative West African country of Ghana.

The 26-year old was pictured enjoying the shisha with former Medeama teammate Richard Adjei, another player whose career has been rocked by acts of indiscipline.

Akowuah, who endured a hellish and nightmarish time during the side's 3-1 defeat in the FA Cup final against rivals Asante Kotoko last week, has come under hot fire for his vices referencing his poor output in the final against their bitterest rivals.

A picture of the midfielder clutching the pipe has surfaced on social media - a revelation that can see his Hearts of Oak career come to a sudden end.

Akowuah has not been in th good books of Phobian fans since making the big-money move from Medeama SC to join the Rainbow Family a season ago with many lashing him for not living up to the hype.

The Phobian fraternity will surely not be happy with the player's conduct despite being off-season as they hold high moral standards in high esteem.

The revelation is set to infuriate the teeming supporters of the club, coming just one week after they were hammered 3-1 by sworn rivals Asant Kotoko in the 2017 FA Cup final clash to finish a trophy-less season.

This is the latest blow to hit the crisis-ridden club after recent setbacks including accusations of match fixing and management's inability to tie up several players with expiring contracts.

Despite the Phobians making strenuous attempts to build a new image, Akowuah's scandalous smoking episode could damage their attempts to get new sponsors as he is pictured as a bad example for kids in a country where smoking is seen an immoral act.