The former Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak winger despite his immense contribution to the team’s qualification was left out of the squad in the country’s maiden appearance in the Mundial in Germany.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Nyantakyi revealed that an official of the FA was tasked with filing the appeal but it wasn’t done on time, leading to the midfielder missing the tournament.

“Ghana appealed [Laryea Kingston’s suspension], but the truth of the matter is that the appeal was filed out of time,” Nyantakyi told Joy Sports.

“Unfortunately, Laryea Kingston was suspended due to the red card in Egypt during the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). We did, but it was filed out of time. Yes, it was filed out of time.

“Somebody’s negligence at the time. I remember Alex Asante [Deputy General Secretary of the GFA] brought me the sanction [letter] in my room in the hotel at Port Said,” he explained.

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“I was seated with OB Amoah [then Deputy Sports Minister], so I asked him to hand it to another official (name withheld) to handle.

“We moved on to concentrate on other things hoping that this thing would be done, and it was not done. By the time we all came back to look at it, it had not been done. Unfortunately, that’s how Laryea Kingston didn’t make it to the 2006 World Cup.”

Laryea was a key member of the Black Stars between 2002 and 2010, making 41 appearances and scoring six goals.

The 41-year-old was, however, not part of Ghana’s squad when the Black Stars featured at their maiden World Cup in 2006 due to a three-match suspension he received during the AFCON earlier that year.

He subsequently missed the Black Stars’ ultimate group match against Zimbabwe at the AFCON and would’ve been unavailable for his country’s opening two group games at the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Laryea recently admitted that it still hurts that he never featured at the FIFA World Cup during his playing time, having also been dropped for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

After making their debut appearance in the Mundial, the Black Stars opened their campaign with a defeat against Italy, who were eventual winners with a 2-0 loss.

Gyan scored the Black Stars’ first goal in the history of the global showpiece, as well as the fastest goal at the World Cup when he hit the ball past Petr Cech in the second group game.

“Our first game, Italy taught us a lesson. Although we played quite well, you could see they beat us with experience,” he told DStv.

“When we went back to the hotel, I and my brother were in a room and I told him, ‘I feel I am going to score in the next game because I know how the World Cup is now.

“I didn’t know the goal will come that early – It was 1 minute eight seconds. It was the fastest goal at the 2006 World Cup. I didn’t know it was going to come this early but I predicted a goal because I felt it.”

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Having opened his scoring account at the World Cup in 2006, Gyan was also heavily involved during the 2010 edition in South Africa. One of the goals which were the most talked about was the goal against the USA which earned Ghana a place in the quarterfinal.

“I remember the game against USA I was sick,” he added.

“I was down with malaria. The doctor said they thought I was not going to play the game. I was vomiting in the dressing room. I went there and everything changed so obviously I scored the winning goal during extra time,” he added.

Gyan remains the country’s top goal scorer and Africa’s top goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.

The 37-year-old played in the 2010 and 2014 Fifa World Cup.

The West African country made their debut appearance at the Mundial in 2006 and was paired in the same group with Italy, the Czech Republic and the USA.

Having lost to Italy in their opening group game, the Black Stars defeated the Czech Republic in the next match to keep their chance of progression alive.

With a minute left to half-time, the Black Stars were awarded a penalty after Mathew Amoah was brought down in the penalty box.

Appiah stepped up and scored to give Ghana a 2-1 lead. That goal ended up being the winner, as Ghana progressed to the Round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time.

Almost 15 years after scoring that famous penalty, Appiah has disclosed that he was under intense pressure before taking the kick.

The former Juventus and Fenerbahce joked that he lost five kilograms of weight before scoring from the spot.

“It’s always difficult to take penalties. Against the USA, a minute to half time we got a penalty and I had to take it,” said on Joy Prime, while on Euro 2020 punditry duty.

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“It was very difficult because this is a situation that everybody was looking at you. And when you think about home; [the pressure from] Ghanaians, the streets and families.

“I lost like five kilos on the spot. You see, working under coaches like Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi and the rest, [they tell you] when you’re taking a penalty, just target one place and hit the ball there. So that’s what I did and I buried the ball that day.”

Appiah was a stalwart for the Black Stars and was the first-ever captain to lead Ghana to qualify for the World Cup in 2006. He also played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Ghana played in the Quarterfinals for the first time.

In an international career that spanned over a decade, the 40-year-old made 67 appearances and scored 14 goals.