How Ghana Nearly Boycotted 2012 AFCON Semifinal Against Zambia Because of Andre Ayew Revealed

• Derek Boateng, a member of Ghana's squad that participated in the 2012 AFCON, has opened up on how the Black Stars nearly missed their semifinal tie against Zambia
• According to Boateng, the Black Stars only trained for 15 minutes due to the team's insistence on ensuring Andre Ayew shows up on the field first
• Ghana ended up losing the semifinal game by a lone goal from Emmanuel Mayuka after Asamoah Gyan had missed a penalty in the first half

One-time Black Stars midfielder Derek Boateng has lifted the lid on how the four-time African champions nearly shunned the 2012 semifinal AFCON tie against Zambia.

The outspoken Derek, who has never shied away from revealing the nitty-gritty in the Black Stars camp, revealed how the team nearly missed the said fixture due to concerns about the use of black magic in the team.

Boateng's account of the incident suggested the team refused to warm up because they felt current Black Stars skipper Andre Ayew was using mystical powers to the detriment of the Black Stars.

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"Before that game [against Zambia], we had 45 minutes to do the warm-up. The Zambians were on the field and we were also supposed to come out. Kwasi Appiah was the one to take us through the warm-up and he was standing at the entrance of the tunnel." Boateng said as quoted by Liquid Sports Ghana.

According to Boateng the players' unusual reluctance to warm up was a deliberate attempt to ensure Andre Ayew gets onto the field before the rest of the team.

"I came on the field along with Jonathan Mensah or somebody else. We were standing and waiting for the rest of the players. Everyone was saying they will not go on the field first until Andre Ayew comes out,”

“For about 15 to 20 minutes, we were just standing there and without doing the warm-up. So the only warm-up we did in the game was for about 10 to 15 minutes. A lot of the players said they will not be the first to go on the field until Dede Ayew did.”

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“So you see some of them sitting on the toilet, some standing on the side, and some sitting. So it was very disturbing. Goran was the coach and he could not understand what was going on. So after the game, I heard a lot of voices. I flipped up and blasted everybody. After the game, Nyatankyi [the GFA President] came to me and asked me what happened and I told him what exactly happened.” He ended.

Derek Boateng opens up on the use of black magic in the Black Stars

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that former Ghana midfielder Derek Boateng has revealed that there is the use of black magic popularly known as 'juju' in the camp of the Black Stars.

Boateng represented Ghana at various tournaments including two FIFA World Cups and the Africa Cup of Nations during his hay days.

The 38-year-old who was speaking on GTV Sports Plus' Saving the Passion show made some interesting revelations about what he saw during his time with the Black Stars especially at the Nations Cup in Gabon 2012.