Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accused Asamoah Gyan of deliberately missing a crucial penalty during the 2010 World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay.
In their second Mundial appearance, the Black Stars had an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals, with the score tied at 1-1.
However, Gyan’s penalty struck the crossbar, ultimately leading to Ghana’s loss in the ensuing penalty shootout.
Mr. Dafeamekpor, who is a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) suggested that, Gyan’s supposed deliberate miss was driven by his political allegiance to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking on Radio XYZ, Dafeamekpor claimed, “I believe Asamoah Gyan intentionally squandered that penalty because it was under the NDC’s tenure. It is now clear to me that he missed the penalty in the 2010 World Cup and the African Cup deliberately so that the NDC government would not receive the acclaim.”
He continued, “Asamoah Gyan is now associated with the Bawumia campaign team. That’s a significant issue because when a public figure becomes partisan, I can confidently say it is for political reasons that he missed that penalty, ensuring the NDC government did not receive recognition. It is truly distressing.”
Mr. Dafeamekpor’s remarks came after Gyan was recently named as part of the New Patriotic Party’s 2024 manifesto committee.
These comments have further fueled the ongoing criticism about Gyan’s impartiality after accepting the role in Dr. Bawumia’s campaign team.
Despite the controversy, Gyan holds an impressive record such as being Africa’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup with six goals and being the Black Stars’ all-time top scorer with 51 goals.
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