I Predict A Riot -Laryea K.

THERE are demonstrations in the streets of Ghana.

He stands accused of trying to ATTACK the national coach who dumped him OUT of his country's World Cup squad.

Former Hearts midfielder Laryea Kingston is at the eye of the storm, the man in the middle of an incredible football drama.

Yet he knows whatever happens now he WON'T be playing in a career-defining tournament in South Africa.

When one-time mainstay Kingston was given the bombshell news that he wasn't in the 23-man squad for the finals it was reported he tried to punch Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac.

That's a charge he furiously DENIES but that doesn't mean Kingston will ever think Rajevac made the right call.

Speaking for the first time since his snub made headlines throughout the football world Kingston turned to SunSport to set the record straight about exactly what happened in that room in Paris when he was axed by his country.

Kingston, freed by Hearts at the end of last season, said: "I know the things that have been said about what went on there but nothing like that happened at all.

"When we were in Paris I was asked to attend a meeting with the coach.

"The president, the vice-president and the Ghana FA spokesman were all in the room at the same time.

"The coach then told me sorry, but I would not be in his final selection of 23 players to go to South Africa. He then told me life would still go on and that I still had a future in the national team.

"I asked the coach if he could give me a reason why I wasn't picked for the final squad. He told me I was not part of his plans as far as a starting place was concerned - and he thought if he put me on the bench that I would only complain.

"I have been in football a long, long time and I have far too much experience for that. I know you can still make a contribution to games even when you start on the bench, and I would have been happy to do so."

The decision sparked fury in Kingston's homeland.

He reckons the number of fans back home demonstrating against the decision outside the FA president's CASTLE in Accra prove his point.

Kingston had been expected to be one of Rajevac's key men in South Africa after recapturing his form for Jambos at the tail end of the season.

He remains one of the biggest names in his country along with Chelsea megastar Michael Essien, who will also miss the finals through injury. This year's tournament held extra meaning for Kingston after he missed the 2006 finals in Germany through suspension.

In that meeting in Paris last weekend Rajevac summoned the 29-year-old to tell him that there was no place in his squad for him.

Rajevac argued Kingston would only moan if he was not guaranteed a start in his Black Stars line-up and according to reports in Ghana that sparked a furious tirade of abuse from the player in the Serbian's direction.

He is alleged to have said: "I swear to God you are not a good coach. You don't know anything about football, you stupid man!" Kingston's MUM even became involved, angrily phoning Ghana's Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports to protest the decision.

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The news also sparked angry scenes in Kingston's home town of Accra, where members of the player's fan club besieged the FA headquarters.

Several pundits in Ghana have also slammed the midfielder's exclusion and Kingston admits he is at a loss to explain why he will not be taking part in Group D games against Germany, Australia and Serbia.

He said: "Since the news came out people have been demonstrating back home because everyone had expected I would be included in the squad.

"They have been on the streets shouting my name and chanting slogans like 'No Kingston, No Black Stars'. They have even marched to the headquarters of the FA to protest and some have gone to the president's castle in Accra. It was very big news at the time - and I know everyone is still talking about it now.

"I cannot change the coach's decision. We actually shook hands at the end of the meeting but since then all these stories have come out suggesting I did these things and I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Why would I do such a thing? What good would that serve me? The whole thing is clearly untrue and the Ghana FA know this.

"Their spokesman was in the room at the time.

"It came as a huge shock to me and it was a very big disappointment as everyone knows it was my dream to play for Ghana at a World Cup finals.

"The frustrating thing is I had played in all my country's games leading up to the squad announcement. Now I have to ask myself what was the point?"