Former Black Stars coach has intimated to the World Cup commission, the stark level of indiscipline by German-born Ghanaian attacker, Kevin-Prince Boateng, resulting in his sacking from the national team.
Coach Kwasi Appiah said Kevin Prince Boateng used the f*** word twice, during a training session and after the game against Germany.
Coach Kwesi Appiah who played for the Black Stars for 11 years and captained the team for four years, said consistent verbal abuse against him did not set a good example for the younger members of the team.
Picking up an example of his indiscipline, the former Prestea Mines player revealed:
“During training, there was a tackle against his colleague which I ignored and there was a shot at goal. And I said good shot and he said “what the fuck is this?”
The commission burst into laughter.
He ordered KP Boateng to the bench in the hope that after training, he would show remorse and apologise. But that never happened.
Much to his dismay, the Schalke 04 player hurled further abuse against him in the presence of the players and management.
“He made me very angry”, nonetheless, he said “for two days I had not reported it to Management”.
He said Kevin often “squeezed” his face whenever he found their paths crossing. After Ghana’s pulsating game against Germany in which KP Boateng was substituted, the player continued to abuse him.
The coach said he finally told Management who took the action to sack him.
F***: is it cultural difference or lack of respect
The place of the word f*** was also analysed by the commission. Was it an insult or a culture alien to Ghanaians, they wondered.
Coach Kwasi Appiah acknowledged that although the word is prevalent in English-speaking cultures, 27-year old Kevin “never used to be like that”.
Sometimes, the coach said, “most of the time I pretended as if I didn’t hear it” but after it became a consistent attitude, he had to lay down the law.
“When he over does it, that is when I have a problem”.
Kevin-Prince Boateng joined the Black Stars in 2010 after he opted to play for Ghana. He has had a controversial career with the Black Stars in his 15 caps for the nation.
Appiah’s Recommendations
The coach recommended that Ghana needs to adopt one football philosophy so that players can easily adapt to the national team and help make great strides on the world stage.
But with the culture of constantly changing coaches, this goal he said would be undermined.
He also wants the number of officials and political hanger-ons during tournaments reduced.
Re-echoing former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah’s advice, Kwesi Appiah said, Ghana’s training pitches need significant improvement to aid the development of the game.