Black Stars legend Asamoah Gyan has hit back at his critics, saying that fans should be grateful that he is even playing in the Ghana Premier League (GPL).
The 35-year-old striker was booed and jeered by Asante Kotoko fans when he came on as a substitute for Legon Cities in a GPL match this past weekend.
Gyan, who has yet to score in the league since joining the Royals in November 2020, was the target of abuse when he came off the bench in the 75th minute, with Legon looking to rescue the game.
Ultimately the Porcupine Warriors were able to hold out for a 1-0 win thanks to Emmanuel Gyamfi’s goal.
“There is only one Asamoah Gyan and they [fans] know it. They should even be grateful that I am playing in the Ghana Premier League,” said the Ghana star after the match, as quoted by Goal.
The veteran, who is the all-time top scorer for the Ghanaian national team, notably snubbed Kotoko when he decided to return to his home country’s domestic football last year, which goes some way toward explaining the acrimony toward him.
Gyan added that Legon Cities have been the victim of poor refereeing: “We lost a bit of concentration in the first half and they were able to capitalise on it and they scored. I think we also had a couple of chances we could have buried,” he was quoted by Sports 24 Ghana.
“The referees were making too many mistakes, I don’t blame them, they are human but you cannot make too many mistakes in such a very tough game. We are anxious, we want to take three points, we wanted to do something in the game.
“I think I had a clear penalty, the referee was about a hundred meters away which I think it’s not right for a referee to stay that far.
“Because with my experience, I think referees need to follow every situation, everywhere the ball is the referee should be about ten meters away. But the referee was I think far away.”
Gyan will hope to end his goal drought for Asante Kotoko when they face Ebusua Dwarfs next weekend.
