Before a Super Clash match against Hearts of Oak, ex-Asante Kotoko player Joe Debrah explained why Sarfo Gyamfi did not shake hands with late Ghanaian president, Jerry John Rawlings.
Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko squared off in a major match that former president JJ Rawlings attended. The players had to be introduced to the president before the game began as is customary.
This act might not have made news if it had been extremely ordinary, but instead, something interesting transpired that drew viewers’ attention.
Sarfo Gyamfi, a member of the team, moved from where he was to the starting point in order to avoid shaking hands with the president while Rawlings was mingling with Kotoko’s players.
Joe Debrah revealed that Sarfo Gyamfi had been told by a juju man not to make eye contact with President Rawlings, which was the reason behind his hesitation to shake hands with him.
Joe Debrah responded, “We would have lost the match, so he didn’t shake hands with him,” when asked what would have occurred if Gyamfi had shook hands with the then-president.
In an interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah, Joe Debrah said, “You know there are ways and means in football. Therefore, Sarfo Gyamfi informed us that he was directed that if exchange pleasantries with Rawlings we will lose the match, so he didn’t shake hands, that is what he told us.
“So Rawlings moved to the other side of the line while shaking hands with the players and moving closer to him, but neither we nor the viewers on TV saw. The loud shouts from the fans were how the public learned about it. Nobody would have known about it, he continued.
The match, which ended 2-2 after ordinary time, was won by the Porcupine Warriors over Hearts of Oak by a score of 5-4 on penalties.
Later, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) banned Sarfo Gyamfi for 8 games for “breaking procedure.”
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