One of UAE's highly respected sports journalist Yasir Abbasher has written an article slamming the country's federation for refusing to name Asamoah Gyan as the league's best player instead of a tempestuous Brazilian Grafite.Â
Below is the full article
Abu Dhabi: Foreign professionals in the UAE are not only asked to play football, but also to teach and guide their younger colleagues and be role models to juniors, especially at times like this when professionalism in the Pro-League is still young.
Taking all this into consideration, the PLC’s naming of Al Ahli’s Brazilian striker Grafite as the International Player of the Year, beating Asamoah Gyan of Al Ain and Boris Kabi of Ajman, raised a lot of questions.
Grafite was suspended for six matches this season for deliberately hitting Hassan Zahran of Al Dhafra without the ball, when his opponent was lying down beneath him, which led to the young defender breaking three teeth and being forced to travel abroad for treatment.
Gyan has set an example of how to be a professional. In 2011, when he finished taking part with Ghana in the African Nations Cup, he rented a private jet to take him back to Al Ain to play a league match because there were no direct flights to the UAE from the city where he was playing. He has topped the list of scorers for the second season, setting a new record of 31 goals in only 22 matches.
Kabi, meanwhile, helped his team not only to stay in the top league, but also to win the Etisalat Cup despite the vast difference in resources, both financially and technically, between his club and some of their rivals.
Meanwhile, as for those who criticised how Dr Abdullah Misfir, the Emirati coach of Dibba, was selected as a nominee for the Coach of the Year award despite the fact his team were relegated? I believe his nomination was justified by the results his team achieved under his guidance, especially in collecting 21 points in their first ever top flight season, beating Al Wasl twice, champions Al Ain and Al Ahli in the Etisalat Cup, while forcing big teams like Al Jazira and Al Shabab to settle for ties.