Former Ghana Under 20 midfielder Adu Tutu Skelley has opened up on his unfortunate red card incident against Spain at the 1999 FIFA under 20 World Cup quarter finals in Nigeria.
In a game where the Black Satellites rose up to level on the 90th minute, after the Spaniards had taken the lead in the 54th minute, the game travelled to extra time which saw a frustrated Adu Tutu Skelley get sent off before the end of the game.
Speaking in an interview with Kofi Mensah on Monday Night Football show on Starr103.5 FM, Adu Tutu Skelley revealed that, he was sent off for an early shower following a provocation from Xavi Hernandez.
“You know I’m very strong anytime I have the ball. So three players came to(tackle) me and I lost the ball. So I tried to catch them up aggressively to win the ball back and unfortunately, Xavi jumped and a little touch from me was spotted by the referee as an infringement which he(the referee) went ahead to show the red card to me.”
After that incident, Spain went ahead to win 8-7 on penalty shoot-out with Xavi scoring the first for his side.
Despite regretting his action for letting his team down in that manner, Adu Tutu Skelley believes he is not the only one to be blamed for their failure in that tournament.
“I can’t also blame myself much because we were leading with a two goal margin in the shoot-out and we let that go” he added.
The former King Faisal Babes player is known for his exploits in the 1999 African Youth championship. A competition which won him the “Super sub” accolade.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/ Frank Appiah
