Jordan 'drop' scandal making rounds

Kwesi Appiah explains that his called up players for the pre-African Cup of Nations camp are about the best the country can put forward. But there is a conspiracy theory making rounds in local football circles that the excuses given by the black stars training for dropping Jordan Ayew are the best flimsy.

The Ghana coach on Thursday announced a 26-man squad, but conspicuously missing from the list was Olympique Marseille striker, Jordan.


But sources close to the FA hint that there was some pressure from ‘above’ for Appiah to drop the precocious striker who has been decent in his outings this season for the French giants. It was an open secret before the squad was announced that Jordan was going to be sacrificed from the squad not for footballing reasons.


But Kwesi Appiah himself came out to debunk those rumors, insisting that he has no axe to grind with the Marseille youngster.


However, an ‘impeccable’ source from the corridors of the FA has disclose that there is more to the matter than meets the eye, especially as the 20-year-old is now the first choice striker for Marseille and looks to have gained much experience from his performances in Europe and French domestic league.

Jordan alleged showed a petulant behavior right from Ghana’s 0-1 loss to Zambia in the second World Cup qualifier and deemed him a disruptive influence in camp.


The two Ayews are reportedly viewed too much influence in camp which could prove detrimental to the team. Some also say a directive from ‘above’ was that Appiah was told to choose one of the Ayews for the tournament, and to play it safe with his job, he settled on Dede Ayew and left Jordan out.


That would be unfortunate to say the least as Jordan offers something different to the team with his mazy runs and ability to take defenders on to create space for lead striker Asamoah Gyan to pounce.


Hopefully this decision by Kwesi Appiah will not come back to haunt him.