The legendary player refused to name the person who influenced the decision but insist the Black Stars coach was not his own man during the tournament in Egypt.

The 33-year-old iconic figure was stripped of Ghana captaincy before the tournament and handed to Swansea City star Andre Ayew which sparked a furious response from the attacker.

He was subsequently restricted to the substitute bench and used sparingly during the tournament in the North African country.

The country’s leading top scorer failed to score at the tournament for the first time since 2008 due to lack of playing opportunities.

And the former Sunderland hitman believes there were third parties that influenced the decision to play down his influence.

“100% I believe Kwesi Appiah was influenced to make those decisions. There is no doubt about that,” Gyan told Asempa FM.

“They are not politicians but someone influenced him to take the decision. In the end, the coach takes responsibility but I know someone influenced him because it was not his own decision.”

Gyan was stripped of the captaincy few weeks to the start of the tournament in Egypt which sparked massive controversy in the West African nation.

He rescinded his decision to retire from the international duty after a conversation with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo Addo.

credit: Ghanasoccernet

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AFCON 2019: Algeria crowned champions of Africa for the second time

Baghdad Bounedjah’s first minute deflected effort handed Algeria their second Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title after a 29-year wait with a 1-0 victory over Senegal in a highly charged final at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday night.

credit: CAFonline

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Riyad Mahrez scored a late free-kick to give Algeria a 2-1 victory over Nigeria and to put them in the finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.



Algeria took the lead in the first half after Riyad Mahrez cross deflected on William Troost-Ekong before entering the back of the net.

Nigeria restored parity through Odion Ighalo’s penalty after Etebo’s shot hit the hand of an Algerian defender. Algeria had a late free-kick which was taken and scored by Riyad Mahrez to send his team to the finals.

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Algeria will face Nigeria in the semifinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, watch along as we give you updates and commentary on the game.

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Nigeria Super Eagles are into the semi-finals after beating South Africa 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Chukwueze opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 27th minute of the game as Nigeria finished the first forty-five minutes in front.

Bogani Zungu grabbed the equalizer for South Africa in the 71st minute before William Troost-Ekong scored the winner for Nigeria.

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Watch along with us as we give you updates and commentary on the game.

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The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be introduced from the quarter-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.

It was originally planned to use VAR from the semi-final stage but it will now be brought in from the last-eight games.

Several marginally offside calls and an erroneous handball decision, which Ghana felt might have contributed to their early exit from the tournament, have been the extent of controversy in Egypt this year in a triumph for the battered reputation of African referees.

The second leg of the African Champions League final was abandoned in May in a row over the absence of the technology when it had been scheduled to be used.

When the referee disallowed an effort by Wydad Casablanca, they stormed off in protest that VAR had not been consulted, even though they had been told before the game that the system was not operational.

The referee of the first leg was banned for six months after he made controversial calls after consulting VAR.

This was deemed, however, to be a knee-jerk reaction by CAF and the suspension of Gehad Grisha was later lifted.

CAF president Ahmad Ahmad said not using the VAR system in the opening rounds was a “measure of prudence”.

”Those countries that use VAR did not rush into it from the start. It’s a technology that a lot of people don’t completely use yet,” he told reporters before the tournament.

Source: ghanasoccernet

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The Normalisation Committee of the Ghana Football Association has apologized for Ghana’s surprise elimination from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. 



A statement issued on the Ghana FA’s website read: ”The Normalisation Committee of the Ghana Football Association is extremely saddened by the exit of the senior national football team, the Black Stars from the Total CAF African Cup of Nations.

”Like our expectant compatriots, we anticipated an exciting tournament, which would culminate in a successful climax of ending our agonizing 37-year for the Afcon trophy.

”The African Cup of Nations has become competitive over the years, and with the historic increase in the number of participating teams, we were well aware of the challenging task which awaited the Black Stars in Egypt.

”Therefore, the Normalisation Committee, with the concerted efforts of key stakeholders, particularly the Government of Ghana, set out to ensure the best of preparations for the Black Stars towards achieving the national objective of ending our Afcon trophy-drought.

”The pre-tournament international friendly in Accra, the early camping in Dubai, the friendly matches and incentive packages for the team were all part of plans and processes towards achieving the elusive dream of winning the African Cup in Egypt.

”Unfortunately, our dream, once again, has ended in disappointment, despite the promise the team’s early promise in the group stage, especially having improved considerably in our final group match h with Guinea Bissau.



”The Normalisation Committee understands the national mood of disappointment, following our painful elimination through the nerve-racking penalty shootout defeat to Tunisia.

”On behalf of the GFA and the football fraternity, we wish to apologize to the good people of Ghana for the painful exit of the Black Stars.

”As we have always maintained, the future of Ghana football is bright, but we can only reclaim our lost glory if the football fraternity remains focused on the development of our game to catch up with our rivals in the world, especially on the African continent.

”This early elimination of the Black Stars is another sad reality for the football fraternity and the nation to a larger extent, to have a second look at our football blueprint moving forward.

”The Normalisation Committee is confident that the restructuring process we have started since last year, will lay a solid foundation on which the future of Ghana football would be built; first and most importantly, to strengthen and improve our domestic football infrastructure, club administration and finances, and turn around the local league to be exciting, player-crazy platform, as well as fan and sponsorship- attractive.

”All these together, will help us claim our top of place position in regional, continental and world football in both male and female games.

”We can’t end this statement without thanking various stakeholders, especially the President, Government (through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other agencies), the Parliamentary Select Committee on Youth, Culture and Sports, as well as the people of Ghana for their committed support to the Black Stars for this Afcon campaign.

”His Excellency President Akufo-Addo demonstrated his personal support towards the team during the qualifiers, before and during the tournament. The Government of Ghana also showed its strong support to the team by providing whatever the team needed for a successful campaign.



”We also appreciate the support of GNPC to the team.

”Finally, we salute the good people of Ghana for their unwavering support to the Black Stars throughout the tournament.

”Even when the going was tough for the team after its stuttering starts with successive draws against Benin and Cameroon, Ghanaians remained solidly behind the team and lifted them up through encouraging words, especially on social media back to its glory days.

”We also acknowledge the role of the media in rallying support for the team before and during the campaign.

”The Normalisation Committee will continue to solicit and count on the support of Ghanaians as we continue with the arduous, but the surmountable task of restoring Ghana football back to its glory days.”

Credit: ghanasoccernet

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Ghana Black Stars Kwesi Appiah believes the officiating played a huge role in their defeat against Tunisia in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 game.

The Black Stars saw a goal canceled by the referee Victor Gomez after the South African believed Thomas Partey handled the ball inside the opponent’s box.

Talking to the press after the game Kwesi Appiah revealed that he isn’t happy with the officiating.

“I think there should be VAR in African football. If there was VAR today the results could have changed. The goal scored would have been allowed” he said

“I think he (the referee)  should go and watch the video again and judge it for himself. It was really bad”. he added

Ghana will travel back to Ghana after their AFCON journey was cut short by Tunisia.

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Ghana Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan has revealed that he might have played his last Africa Cup of Nations tournament after round of 16 defeat against Tunisia.

Asamoah Gyan came as a substitute in the game and he has received credit for forcing the Tunisian defender to score an own goal that extended the game to the extra time.

Speaking to the press after the game, Asamoah Gyan stated that this could be his last Africa Cup of Nations.

“It could be my last Africa Cup of Nations. It could be. I don’t know yet but it could be” Gyan said.

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