Black Stars player and former Leicester City defender, Daniel Amartey, reportedly saw his time with the Black Stars cut short after a dispute over a $200 deduction from funds gifted to the players.
According to renowned sports journalist Collins Atta Poku, who shared the story on Sompa FM, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had given each player $3,000 ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). However, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) handed out only $2,800 to each player, citing an undisclosed deduction.
Unhappy with the unexplained cut, Amartey confronted officials, questioning the GFA’s authority to make the deduction without first consulting the team.
“When the President met the team at Golden Tulip, he gave them money to share. The players were to receive $3,000 each, but they got $2,800 instead. Then Amartey went to ask, ‘Why have you given us $2,800?’ That is the genesis of Amartey’s problems at the Black Stars,” Atta Poku narrated.
The FA reportedly explained that the deducted amount was meant for the technical team, who were also part of the delegation.
“Amartey then was part of our captain group. So the FA explained to him that they wanted to give the technical team some of the money, and he (Amartey) said, ‘No way. How has the president given us money, and you want to give some to the technical team? Do you know what we the players have thought about?’ They had a plan already,” Atta Poku revealed during an interview on Sompa FM.
The matter was allegedly settled, but friction arose again when Amartey declined to participate in a meeting addressing the potential dismissal of head coach Chris Hughton after Ghana’s disappointing AFCON campaign.
“They wanted to sack Chris Hughton at the hotel. So they called a meeting and said that the captains’ group should come, Amartey and the like should come, so they could fire the coach.
The players should give the backing to the sacking, but he said he won’t do it,” Atta Poku added.
Atta Poku further claimed that GFA President Kurt Okraku made the decision to exclude Amartey from the team after these incidents.
“They tried getting Mark Addo (Black Stars management committee chairman) to stop Amartey from playing for the Black Stars.
It was Kurt’s sole decision to kick out Amartey from the Black Stars. So if you don’t see Daniel Amartey in the team, this is the reason,” he concluded on Sompa FM.
Daniel Amartey’s involvement in the 2023 AFCON was brief, with a single 18-minute appearance in the final group stage match against Mozambique, where he substituted Antoine Semenyo in the 72nd minute.
Since then, Amartey has been absent from the Black Stars lineup, missing 10 straight matches.