Essien: The whole truth must be told

A few hours after Coach Kwasi Appiah had revealed he had reported Black Stars midfielder Michael Essien to the team’s management committee for misconduct in camp during the World Cup in Brazil, the player called for calm in order to help find a lasting solution to the team’s problems.

At a post-World Cup press conference in Accra last Wednesday, coach Appiah revealed that the AC Milan star refused to participate in a pre-match warm-up ahead of the team’s final Group G game against Portugal, for which reason he had asked the FA to sanction the midfielder, who was fingered as one of the players to have stoked the confusion that rocked the Stars camp over delayed payment of appearance fees.

In a statement last Wednesday, Essien said an atmosphere of peace and dialogue was needed to resolve the alleged breakdown of discipline among some senior players which resulted in the indefinite suspension of midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari.

Essien, however, failed to comment on Coach Appiah’s allegation but simply said the whole truth about the various episodes in Brazil needed to be thoroughly investigated and the truth told in full.

“I am convinced that in the fullness of time, all the facts surrounding the entire episode will become public for the good people of Ghana to judge my guilt or otherwise,” he said in the statement.

“We must all embrace peace and see a lasting solution to the teams problems through dialogue. The destructive and vicious attacks on individual members of the team, as well as the technical and management members cannot solve the problems of the Black Stars.”

“While I believe we desperately need a peaceful resolution of all the issues agitating our minds and the minds of fans of the team, I hold the view that we can investigate and resolve these issues without further destroying the team,” he added.