The President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, has called on football fans to refrain from abusing players and to trust the technical team with the crucial decisions of player selection for the Black Stars.
After the disappointing performance of the Black Stars at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, players faced severe abuse from fans. Following the embarrassing draw against Mozambique, player Mohammed Salisu even expressed a desire to confront journalists.
“If we are quick to criticize and abuse our players when things go wrong, we are not likely to help them improve. That is why I’ve always maintained that in both good times and bad, we need to stand by our players,” Kurt Okraku stated at the GFA meet the press.
“Crucial decisions regarding player selection should be left to the technical team to handle.”
Ghana’s failure to advance to the Round of 16 came after finishing third in a group that included Cape Verde, Egypt and Mozambique.
The Black Stars suffered a 2-1 loss to Cape Verde and two consecutive 2-2 draws against Egypt and Mozambique, resulting in Ghana’s elimination from the tournament.
This marks the second consecutive tournament in which the Black Stars were unable to advance past the group stages without securing a victory, prolonging the country’s 42-year quest for its fifth AFCON title.
