Former Ghana international Derek Boateng has backed Felix Afena-Gyan for snubbing the Black Meteors call-up for the qualifiers against Algeria.
The Cremonese forward was invited by U-23 coach Ibrahim Tanko for the Afcon qualifier.
But according to the gaffer, Afena-Gyan’s management stated that he was not ready for the games.
For Derek Boateng, the unfair treatment by the Ghana FA before the 2022 World Cup is the reason why Gyan snubbed the call-up.
“Ghanaians have been unfair to the boy and I support his decision to decline an invitation. Football is no longer just about getting onto the pitch.
“A lot of things that people don’t care about inspires performance and they only blame players for not performing without caring,” Boateng said on Asempa FM.
“Football is all about the brain, you can never perform if you don’t have a good mindset. He was our best player in both games against Nigeria before the World Cup.
Because we were playing one, he was the player who was fighting four Nigerian defenders.”
Boateng continued, “He tried everything, we qualified for the World Cup and they didn’t invite him, and now they want him for under 23 and his management says he isn’t ready.”
To solve the situation, Boateng hopes the Ghana FA will meets with the player’s camp.
“If the FA thinks about him and his mental issues, they have to visit and make him feel he’s part of their plans.
“They will need him if they want to win to the U-23 Afcon. He needs to feel that we care about him because these are actions players want to see.
“Ignoring him is what we do sometimes and we end up losing players.”
