Editorial: What Is $5,000 to Essien, Muntari, Gyan?

The Governing body of football in the country, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), on Thursday gave it much-awaited verdict on the issue involved three of players of the senior national team, the Black Stars, being Michael Essien, Sule Muntari and Asamoah Gyan. The body has decided to impose a fine of US$5,000 on each of the three players for their decision to boycott the Ghana -Angolan international friendly without cause and reason. However, the FA�s decision seems to have generated a lot of heated debates than expected. Whilst some, including good-old Mohammed Polo, have welcomed the decision, others, including a former FA boss, Dr Nyaho Tamakloe, and a host of others, think otherwise, since according to him the US$5,000 fine imposed on each of the players was pittance, and would not serve as a deterrent to other offending players. Though Polo agrees with the lot that the fine was not too much, he says there was no need to drag the issues further to affect the players selection into the team, since according to him, there would not be enough time to look for new players to play for the country in the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup, which come on next year January and June respectively This is exactly what Nyaho doesn�t want to hear, since he believes the affected players were gradually becoming unbecoming. He maintains his position that they should be sacked to serve as a deterrent to others who may have the intention of cultivating such habits, since they had virtually become untouchables, hence their cold attitude towards national assignments. He subscribed to the saying; �If a bird becomes too big for its cage, it is made to fly away,� and stressed the need for the players involved to be relieved of their positions, since the country is blessed with lots of talent who may be better committed than these individuals. We, at The Chronicle on Saturday, indeed subscribe to Dr Nyaho Tamakloe�s position, and believe that it is high time that we let some of these obviously arrogant players know that it is a great honour for one to play for his nation in any given event, considering the fact that there are a lot more players out there, who do not just want, but need such opportunities. Indeed the US$5,000 is nothing but a pittance, and would in no way serve as a deterrent to any of the affected individuals, considering their earnings, as even the bonuses they receive for playing one match for Ghana, is more than this pittance of a fine. We believe the FA could have done much better than this, since they seem to be providing some form of protective shield for the boys. Since the decision has already been taken, we would not take delight in dragging the issue any further. This should serve as lesson to the boys, since this alone, threatened their positions in the Black Starts. These players have made money and name because the taxpayer�s money was used to sponsor them through the junior teams to secure lucrative contracts abroad, and instead of showing appreciation, they have decided to turn their backs on the nation. That notwithstanding, they should also have it at the back of their minds, that if the likes of Abedi Pele and tony Yeboah, just to mention few, had put up this unpatriotic behaviour, Ghana would not have gotten where it is today in the world of football.