''We won't victimize Yartey & Adams" - GFA

The Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi claims the international careers of youngsters Sadick Adams and Ishmael Yartey are not over despite allegations of bribery and unfair treatment leveled against national Under-20 coach Sellas Tetteh. Portugal-based Yartey alleged Tetteh took bribes from his colleagues before naming his 21-man squad for the Fifa World Youth Championship which begins next Thursday in Egypt. He claims his refusal to pay bribe meant he was excluded from the final squad although he is in top form. Adams termed his exclusion from the team as mischievous and suspected some faceless authorities for instigating it even though he had a Fifa ban in force. It is feared that the two players who stirred controversy in the Ghanaian media will never be handed a national team call-up. But Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi is quick to allay those fears. "I think selection to national team is based on merit. Your ability to play well on the field and comport yourself well and each and every one of them including future players which may make similar statements will not be black-listed or excluded from the national team because of this," FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi told Ghanasoccernet.com "For all you know it's true or it may not be true so it will be too early to be prejudicial and judgmental at this point but I do not think that their inclusion or exclusion from the national team will be based on these trivial statements. It will be based on merit at every point in time. "If at the end of a particular period one of them or both are best players at the time why should we exclude them from the national team because of this? I don�t think there will be a reasonable basis for that. "We live in a democratic environment where everybody can express himself. There's freedom of expression, freedom of thought but make sure your right doesn't infringe somebody's rights by defaming him or telling lies against him that will also injure his reputation. "We are also very mindful of the work of the technical team people that selection must be based on merit and not on some of these." The Football Association claims its disciplinary committee has begun investigations into the allegation and has written to Yartey to substantiate his claims. "In the particular pass case of Sadick Adams I think he made those comments out of ignorance and once his attention is drawn to those mis information that will shut him up. in the case of Ishmael Yartey he has made allegations which are yet to be proven," Nyantakyi added.