Kevin Prince-Boateng is vulgar - Appiah

Ex-Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, has revealed that the decision to throw out Germany-based Kevin-Prince Boateng from camp was occasioned by the player’s verbal abuse on him and some members of the technical team during the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup.

He said Boateng used foul language on him and his colleagues at training on several occasions which he [Appiah] kept ignoring until the player went out of his way to engage in a verbal exchange with him at training before Ghana’s third game against Portugal.

Testifying yesterday before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing Ghana’s World Cup campaign, Coach Appiah explained that he was compelled to expel the player because he was becoming a bad influence on the young players in the team.

“There were some things he did which I think did not help the atmosphere of the team. 

“It was a very good example for the young ones to learn from,” he said, in reaction to a question as to whether he thought the timing of the player’s suspension was right.

According to the soft-spoken coach, when the second incident happened, he asked Boateng to leave the training pitch in order not to be a bad influence on the younger players.

“I was expecting him to show remorse and apologise but he rather confronted me after training and started exchanging words with me, making me very angry.’

He regretted the decision to include Boateng in the World Cup team since it did not work out the way he had anticipated.

“I’ve worked with him before and he was never like that. It was a very good experience for me,’ Appiah recalled with pain. 

He noted that Boateng’s recalcitrance was so profound that not even interventions by his ‘German’ brother, Otto Addo, who was one of the team’s scouts, could make any difference.

He disclosed that the straw that broke the camel’s back happened two days before the brawl between Sulley Muntari and Moses (Mospacka) Armah, hence the decision to suspend the players to ensure sanity in camp.

“When that decision was taken the Minister and the FA members were there and we thought it was important that all players behaved responsibly.”

Coach Appiah also attributed the Stars’ early exit to the appearance fees saga which eventually resulted in the players carrying their $100,000 booty in back packs to the dressing room prior to the Portugal match.

He agreed with the Commission that the payment of the much-awaited appearance fees on the eve of the match, coupled with the carrying of money to the dressing room, really affected the players’ psyche.

He stressed on the need for appearance fees to be settled even before the final team is announced in future.