The Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Henry Asante Twum responded to Roberto De Zerbi’s criticism of Black Stars coach Chris Hughton regarding Tariq Lamptey’s inclusion on the 55-man provisional squad.
The Seagulls coach, before his side’s M23 derby clash against Jordan Ayew’s Crystal Palace on Thursday night, accused Ghana’s coach of not following the Premier League after he named Lamptey for the AFCON.
In an interview with max.com.gh, the GFA’s communication director expressed his disapproval of De Zerbi’s “unfortunate” comments: “I think it is unfortunate but it is neither here or there and I wish he never said that because Tariq isn’t the only injured player named in the squad.
“Daniel Amartey has been injured until yesterday [Thursday], when he played for Besiktas. Partey has been injured for close to two months now, but his name is on the list.”
He also commended the Black Stars coach for his proactiveness, showing his preparedness toward the AFCON in Ivory Coast.
“However, this is the issue. Would you sit down and be caught off guard rather than be pro-active and hope things would be improved to utilize the opportunity?” he asked.
Like all other African nations, Ghana has until January 3 to submit the final squad to CAF. Up until the tournament commences, the participating nations are free to make changes to their individual squads.
