Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku has issued a plea to Ghanaians to put an end to the practice of booing their own players during matches.
He took to social media to express his concerns about the growing trend, citing instances of two players - Baba Rahman and Mukarama Abdulai - who were jeered by fans despite their contributions to the respective national teams.
Rahman faced jeers during a Ghana match in Kumasi last year, while Abdulai endured similar treatment during Tuesday’s African Games clash against Tanzania, despite ultimately scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory that saw Ghana progress to the semifinals.
In his post, Okraku emphasised that Ghana is known for supporting and loving its players through thick and thin, but stressed that booing them is not part of that culture.
He believes that such behaviour can negatively impact player morale and ultimately affect their performance on the field.
He wrote, "We are a football-loving country. A country that traditionally supports and loves our players in good times and in bad times."
"Ghana is not a football country that is hostile to its players."
"However, in recent times, a bad culture seems to be gaining grounds where a few of our fans boo our national players. I mean players who volunteer to represent our country."
"This is NOT Ghana and this culture has to be rejected. In recent times, some of our players including Abdul Baba Rahman and from yesterday’s game in Cape Coast, striker Mukarama Abdulai (Black Princesses) have been booed by some few Ghanaian football fans."
"My appeal is that let’s stay together as Ghanaians at all times and let’s support our players in good times and in bad times. This is NOT a good habit!!!!"