World Cup: GFA Reacts to England Media Reports on Pre-Match Handshake Involving Partey
The Ghana Football Association’s Communications Director, Henry Asante Twum, addressed English media reports on Thomas Partey before the World Cup match against England in his first public statement.
Ghana’s Black Stars will play against the Three Lions of England in their second group stage match at the World Cup on Tuesday, June 23.
The two teams will compete at Boston Stadium, the tournament’s name for Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The English Football Association intends to talk about how the players will handle a possible pre-match handshake with Partey, according to The Times. It is customary for both teams’ starting players to shake hands on the pitch prior to kick-off.
Henry Asante Twum stated that member association concerns should be directed to FIFA in response to rumours in the English media about whether England players would shake hands with Partey prior to the Group L match.
“Member association concerns do not travel from one member association to another; member association concerns go to the tournament organiser or the competition owner. In that sense, I’m talking about FIFA. So, if the English FA has a plan for this, they will not communicate with us; we are not organisers of the tournament,” Henry explained.
In an exclusive interview with 3Sports, he indicated that the discussion might evolve into a distraction prior to the tournament.
He stated, “I see this whole thing differently. I sit here every morning and wake up to tonnes of emails from the English media. In the lead-up to the game against Wales, I received seventeen emails on this Thomas issue. When Carlos Queiroz met the press before the game, I saw four English media persons, two of whom asked questions regarding this particular issue.”
“The English media are using this as mind games to destabilise the team, but we support our player and remain focused.”
“We have absolute confidence in what our player has told us. We have supported him right from the very beginning,” Henry stated.
