Ghana coach 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: MTNFootball.com