The comments made by Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, regarding Asamoah Gyan’s penalty miss in the 2010 World Cup have sparked outrage among Ghanaians.
Many have described his statements as “stupid” and “silly,” and have expressed disappointment that a member of parliament would make such accusations.
In an interview with Radio XYZ, Dafeamekpor claimed that Asamoah Gyan, who is a former Black Stars captain and a legendary footballer, deliberately missed the penalty against Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup because he is a lifelong supporter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and did not want the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to receive credit for Ghana’s success in the tournament.
Ghana would have been the first African side to reach the World Cup if Gyan scored the extra-time penalty but he struck the post with a powerful effort.
Dafeamekpor also criticised Gyan’s decision to join the manifesto committee for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s candidate for the 2024 elections, stating that as a national figure, Gyan should remain apolitical and not align himself with any particular party.
“I believe that Asamoah Gyan intentionally threw away that penalty because it was under NDC. It’s only now that I’ve realized that he threw away the penalty in the 2010 World Cup and the African Cup because the glory would have gone to the NDC.”
“Asamoah Gyan is now part of the Bawumia campaign team. There’s everything wrong with that because when you’re a national figure and you become partisan, I can reasonably say that it’s because of politics that he threw that penalty away so that the NDC government won’t get the glory. I’m telling you that I feel the pain,” Dafeamekpor said.
Ghanaians have taken to social media to express their discontent with Dafeamekpor’s comments, with many calling them “baseless” and “politically motivated.”
Credit: Ghanasoccernet.com
