‘Code of conduct rebels will be axed from squad’

Black Stars players will sign the team’s code of conduct before next week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Uganda and those who opt out from signing the contract will be left of the Ghana national team, the Ghana FA has revealed.

Sports ministry officials and the management of the Black Stars will meet the players on Tuesday night to explain to the Black Stars players the need for the code of conduct and the new way of paying the players.

The GFA has been forced into changing its ways of dealing with players of the national team following some ugly incidents in the Black Stars at the 2014 World Cup.

Kevin-Prince Boateng was alleged to have verbally insulted coach Kwesi Appiah while Sulley Muntari was accused of physically attacking a management member of the Black Stars at the tournament in Brazil.

Ghana was subjected to international ridicule after it emerged that players were subsequently paid their appearance fees of $100,000 in cash after it was flown from Accra by a chartered flight.

Players also boycotted training because of government’s delay in paying their appearance fees at the World Cup which sparked concerns about the effectiveness of the previous code of conduct.

With the first match since the tournament in Brazil looming, the GFA says they are putting these new measures in place to ensure that the right things are done from the Black Stars next game.

“The contract with the players will be signed before our match against Uganda. As we all know, a lot of issues arose during the World Cup and management have devised strategies to correct these issues and this is the first step,” Ghana FA spokesman Ibrahim Sannie Daara explained at a press conference in Accra on Friday.

“A code of conduct for the Black Stars and the amount they will be paid during the qualifiers will be signed by all players.

“We have learnt our lessons going forward and we want to hit the ground running in our very next assignment. For their own safety, its important that we get this done once and for all.

“We’ll take them through the contract so that they know what they are signing. The Sports Minister or maybe his assistant will also be in at the meeting on Tuesday evening to also speak with the players about the contracts and the new measures being put in place.”

The GFA says players who refuse to sign the contract will be left out of the squad as they are keen on not repeating what happened in Brazil in terms of conduct.

“If we all go through the terms of the contract and a player thinks they cannot sign it, let me assure you that we’ll leave that player out,” Sannie stated emphatically.

Ghana will play Uganda on Saturday before travelling to Togo to face the Hawks on Wednesday.