The Ghana Football Association has ordered Black Stars coach Avram Grant, who has been in Europe for in the last three months, to return to Accra as soon as possible to monitor players in the local Premier League.
The Israeli was granted one month leave by his employers in December but in two letters sighted by TV3Sports, the GFA says the Israeli has overstayed and wants him back at post “as soon as possible to monitor some of the players in the national leagues.”
The GFA and Grant have exchanged correspondence at least three times since Saturday February 26th in what appears to be an escalation of tension between the parties.
The first letter to Grant from Deputy General Secretary Alex Asante on Saturday, February 26th read in part: “I have been authorised by the Emergency Committee to remind you that your leave days are over and as such you should report to Ghana as soon as possible.”
The letter explains that Grant was due to report to work in January but was granted an additional seven days to enable him participate in a League Managers Association conference in the United States which the GFA says ended in mid-January.
Although TV3 Sports has not seen a copy of Grant’s emailed response but it is clear from the GFA’s follow up letter on February 29th that Grant disputed the GFA’s account of the issues.
The response of the GFA in a letter signed by the Acting General Secretary Isaac Addo stated: “The position of the Emergency Committee is that you have not been given any permission or approval to perform any monitoring work in Europe for the months of January, February and March, 2016.
“In the light of the above we kindly ask you to return to Accra as soon as possible to monitor some of the players in the national leagues”, the letter concluded.
The letter however fell short of a deadline to the Isreali or possible sanctions should he fail to comply with the orders of his employer, the GFA
Grant’s regular stay abroad has been a constant source of criticism since he became Ghana boss with some journalists mocking him for inviting himself whenever he invites players for Ghana games.
He has defended his regular stay in Europe on the grounds that it allows him to easily monitor Ghanaian players based there and that his assistant Maxwell Konadu can do a competent job of keeping an eye on talents in the local Ghana league too.
Source: TV3 Sports