Former Ghana midfielder Sola Ayew says Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah has stabbed him in the back for excluding his nephews Andre Ayew of West Ham and Swansea City's Jordan Ayew from the national team squad.
The former Hearts of Oak playmaker insists he fought against his own family when the two players were previously dropped by the coach in his previous stint in charge of the Black Stars.
Appiah announced a 26-man squad this week for the must-win encounter against the Uganda Cranes in Kampala without the experienced duo, sparking a huge debate in the country.
Appiah is being accused of deliberately haunting the Ayew brothers out of the team because of a long standing dispute with the father of the two players.
The coach explained that their exclusion is to give the chance to other players to fight for places in the squad is the key reason behind the decision to leave out the premier league stars.
This is because the Ayews have made a combined 121 appearances for the senior national team. Andre has scored 14 goals while Jordan has 12.
Uncle of the Premier League stars, Sola Ayew said the coach excluded Andre and Jordan Ayew from the team due to jealousy.
Sola claims he fought his own family to defend the Black Stars coach thus did not expect him to pay him back by stabbing him in the back.
“Akwesi Appiah should shut up [because] his explanation is bogus. I fought for you and you stab me in the back?” he quizzed.
According to reports in Ghana, there are two possible reasons behind Appiah's decision to drop the brothers.
The first excuse is to punish Andre and Jordan for their antics last month, when Ghana faced off against Congo.
Andre missed the match due to a supposed injury while Jordan posted a photo on social media depicting the striker in a hospital bed - ruling him out of the tie.
However, both attackers returned to the Premier League the following weekend, with no trouble.
This has led to conspiracies that the pair were attempting to sabotage Appiah's match (a hugely important game for the Ghanaians). Nevertheless, the Black Stars ran out 5-1 winners.
On the other hand, those on the side of the Ayews believe that the decision is part of a 25-year feud with the family - and Appiah is punishing them because they are the sons of African legend Abedi Pele.
1992 saw Appiah stripped of his national captaincy in favour of Pele - the Ghanaian FA believing the latter could do a better job.
This sparked a rift between the two, and his latest decision could be Appiah getting his own back on Pele.