Prince Boateng, the father of Ghana midfielder Kevin Boateng, has stoked the fires in Germany by claiming that his son’s tackle on Michael Ballack that ruled the Germany captain out of the World Cup could have been a revenge attack.
Ballack, 33, who plays for Chelsea, was clattered in the 35th minute of Saturday's English FA Cup final by the Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, ruling the German out of the World Cup.
With the two countries clashing at the group stage of the World Cup, the midfielder who recently snubbed Germany to play for Ghana has been rated by the German media as the 'Public Enemy No.1'.
The new Ghanaian enforcer has been accused of tackling Ballack to prevent him from meeting the Black Stars at the World Cup an allegation the Portsmouth player has vehemently denied.
It emerged has now emerged, however, that there may be more to the injury than just bad luck.
Kevin-Prince Boateng has been holding a grudge against the German captain for four years over a comment Ballack allegedly made during a game when the pair both played in the German Bundesliga.
VIDEO: Watch Boateng's tackle on Ballack
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Boateng's father, Prince, 56, told the Hamburg Morning Post: "Kevin's the whipping boy once again. It's always twice as bad when anything happens with a Boateng.
“It upsets me a lot. But you have to look at the whole story. [In 2006] Kevin had just scored his first goal for Hertha [Berlin].
“Then they played against Bayern Munich. He had an argument with Ballack.
"Ballack said to him. 'You've scored one goal, and you think you are the best'. Kevin has never forgotten that.
“Unfortunately, Kevin isn't very diplomatic. But I am sure, even if he did foul Ballack, he didn't mean to injure him."
Boateng's challenge on Ballack was rash, reckless and dangerous, but it did not have the appearance of a premeditated attack such as the violent assault by Roy Keaneon Alf-Inge Haaland that ended the Norwegian's career in 2001.
Ballack, 33, underwent a scan in Munich yesterday morning on his ankle ligaments, desperately hoping that even if the injury meant a few weeks on the sidelines he might at least be able to play some part in Germany's challenge.
He had been due to have an MRI scanin London on Sunday but the swelling was so bad that proved impossible.
So he flew to Germany, to the surgery of German team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, where he received the verdict.