[ 2011-10-11 ]

Stevanovic explains Ayew exclusion
Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic says the decision to
exclude in-form Andre 'Dede' Ayew from the squad
that played Sudan was motivated by a prohibitive
Fifa law.

Countries must inform clubs of their decision to
invite players for international matches at least
14 days before a game.

At the time European clubs were notified of
Ghana's decision to invite their players for the
Sudan game, Ayew was suffering from a groin
injury.

Because the game against Sudan was to be played on
8th October, the Ghana FA should have sent invites
to the clubs by 24 September - that's two weeks
before the game.

Four days after deadline had elapsed, Ayew
recovered to play for Marseille in their Champions
League clash Dortmund and he excelled by scoring
two goals.

Three days later on 2 October, the son of legend
Abedi Pele scored again in a league match against
Brest.

The Serbian manager says Ayew's exclusion was
because of fears that he could not be fit to play
in the game in Omdurman.

"Dede was injured weeks before the Sudan game and
I must submit the list to clubs at least two weeks
before," Stevanovic said.

"I could not be sure if he would recover in time
for the game and I think I made the good choice."


Stevanovic insists the Marseille youngster has not
been axed from the team and could be in line for a
call-up in the next game.

"For me I don't see any problems with the players
who missed the squad this time because the next
time other players can be called," Stevanovic
said.

This is not the first time Stevanovic has been
faced with a problem with Andre Ayew's injury.

The Marseille player was part of the team
Stevanovic invited in his first game in charge
during their friendly with Togo in Belgium earlier
this year.

Ayew arrived in camp injured and could not even
train with the team.

Another player could have been given the chance to
impress if the Marseille star had alerted the
technical team of his injury before he joined
camp.

Ghana beat 2-0 in Omdurman on Saturday to qualify
for the Africa Cup of Nations with a perfect
record.

Source - Citifmonline

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