Cameroon coach Tanko: Special treament for KP Boateng caused Black Stars indiscipline

Published on: 08 August 2014
Cameroon coach Tanko: Special treament for KP Boateng caused Black Stars indiscipline
Ibrahim Tanko (left) says Boateng special treatment caused Black Stars problems

Cameroon assistant coach Ibrahim Tanko says the decision to give midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng preferential treatment in Ghana's camp is the cause of the Black Stars indiscipline at the World Cup in Brazil.

The former Ghana international is unhappy that the Germany-born player was begged to return to the Black Stars to play at the World Cup even though he played only in one qualifying match.

Tanko, who played for German Bundesliga side Dortmund,  said allowing the Schalke player to bring his own physio to the team created a class system which led to his disciplinary problems in the team.

Boateng was sacked from the Ghana team for verbally insulting coach Kwesi Appiah and Tanko says the decision to treat him differently caused the indiscipline which infected other players in the squad.

“I don’t know what has happened before, but what I think is that as a coach you have to be very tough from the beginning because some of the players will come to test you,” Tanko told GHANAsoccernet.com in an exclusive interview.

“I don’t understand why Kevin Prince Boateng wants to only play for Ghana during tournaments, but declines to come for qualifiers and this sets bad precedence for others to follow.

“The technical team allowed Kevin to bring his physiotherapist to camp and this could have made the other big boys to do the same, hence causing chaos in camp.

“Although he is a good player, there are equally good players like Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari, Michael Essien in the team, so making him go beyond his boundaries, will let others to follow the bad example set.”

Baoteng quit the Black Stars months after switching nationality to play for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup and rescinded his decision few months before the recent World Cup in Brazil after a Ghana FA delegation travelled to Germany to convince him to return.

Boateng and Sulley Muntari were sacked from the Black Stars camp during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil for various acts of indiscipline with the latter axed for punching a team official.

Michael Essien was also accused of refusing to warm-up before the last group match against Portugal.

Do you agree with Ibrahim Tanko? Do you think Ghana treated Kevin with kid gloves? Make your views known in the box below:

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