Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan claims many of his Black Stars teammates are against the idea of playing Egypt in Cairo for the World Cup playoff return leg next month.
The Al Ain striker says they feel intimidated by the deteriorating security concerns in the North African country. FIFA has set a 28 October deadline to confirm whether the match will be played in Cairo or at a neutral venue.
This was after the Ghana FA wrote to the world football governing body over recent violent clashes between protesters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the military.
The Egyptian Football Association insists the country is safe and Ghana should harbour no fear ahead of the 19 November decider.
“Most of the guys talk to me about playing the second leg in Cairo in front of the fans and are scared about the happenings in that country,” Gyan told Kumasi-based Angel FM
“Don’t forget that most of the players follow all what is going on in Egypt and are abreast with every incident that has been going on because life is very precious.
“We are in talks with the authorities in charge to see what decision is finally taken with respect to the venue of the match so hopefully by next week will all know where the game will be played.
“We need to protect our lives as footballers so if Cairo is picked as the venue then they would have to provide a very tight security for us because we all know the what the situation is in Egypt now.
“Not to say that we can’t play, we are ready to play at any venue against any opposition but as I said our lives are more important.”
Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan claims many of his Black Stars teammates are against the idea of playing Egypt in Cairo for the World Cup playoff return leg next month. The Al Ain striker says they feel intimidated by the deteriorating security concerns in the North African country.
FIFA has set a 28 October deadline to confirm whether the match will be played in Cairo or at a neutral venue.
This was after the Ghana FA wrote to the world football governing body over recent violent clashes between protesters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the military. The Egyptian Football Association insists the country is safe and Ghana should harbour no fear ahead of the 19 November decider.
“Most of the guys talk to me about playing the second leg in Cairo in front of the fans and are scared about the happenings in that country,” Gyan told Kumasi-based Angel FM
“Don’t forget that most of the players follow all what is going on in Egypt and are abreast with every incident that has been going on because life is very precious.
“We are in talks with the authorities in charge to see what decision is finally taken with respect to the venue of the match so hopefully by next week will all know where the game will be played.
“We need to protect our lives as footballers so if Cairo is picked as the venue then they would have to provide a very tight security for us because we all know the what the situation is in Egypt now.
“Not to say that we can’t play, we are ready to play at any venue against any opposition but as I said our lives are more important.”
Source: ghanasoccernet.com
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