Member of Parliament for South Dayi in the Volta Region of Ghana Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has sparked controversy after accusing former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan of deliberately missing the penalty against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
To him, Gyan deliberately missed the penalty because he belongs to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and did not want the team to qualify to the semi-finals of the World cup which would have been credited to the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.
His remarks have drawn criticism for being “stupid” and “silly,” and many people are upset that a member of parliament would level such charges.
Asamoah Gyan, a legendary football player and former captain of the Black Stars, allegedly denied the penalty against Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup on purpose because he has always supported the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and did not want the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to be given credit for Ghana’s victory in the competition, according to Dafeamekpor in an interview with Radio XYZ.
Gyan struck the post with a strong effort, but if he had scored the extra-time penalty, Ghana would have become the first African team to qualify for the World Cup.
Dafeamekpor comment came after Asamoah Gyanb was named in the manifesto committee of the flagbearer of the NPP – Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia – ahead of Ghana’s general elections later this year.
“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.”