Ghana have sent Kevin Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari home from Brazil.
Ghana face a date with destiny this afternoon, taking on Portugal in hope of making it to the next round of the World Cup.
The Black Stars have once again won over many neutrals, in particular for their performance against Germany in their last group game.
But defeat to the USA in their opening game makes qualification difficult, the disappointing Portugal standing in their way.
That task has now got a little bit harder – after two of their star players were sent home from the World Cup after a bust-up between the pair.
Ex-Portsmouth stars Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince-Boateng have both been told their services are no longer necessary in Brazil.
Reports suggest that Boateng ‘had used vulgar verbal insults targeted at coach Kwesi Appiah’ and Muntari had unleashed an ‘unprovoked physical attack on an executive committee member’.
Boateng has since confirmed the news to German media, but appeared to give a very different account of things to German paper Bild:
“Yesterday, there was an incident during training. Sulley Muntari and I have joked for a duel. I said that he had played the ball with his hand. He said no. Then I laughed and said: ‘Hey, you’re the referee or what?
We have both laughed. The coach broke the complete unit. And wondered why we laugh. We said that everything was okay. He then sent me to the cabin.”
He continued…
“…After training I went to the coach and asked him if he had a minute for me. I asked him what he had against me? Then he started yelling at me. He insulted me. There were words like: F**k off. I accept the [ban] absolutely – only no one should believe that I had insulted the coach or something… I now travel from and I wish my colleagues all the best for the World Cup and the match against Portugal.”
This one is far from concluded, but Ghana will hope it does not serve as too much of a distraction before the crunch game from Portugal.
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