Black Stars management committee member, Alhaji Grusah has jumped to the defense of Ghana captain Andre Ayew following calls for his drop from the national team.

According to the veteran Ghanaian football administrator, the Al Sadd SC forward remains key for the Black Stars and should not be forced out of the team.

Hitting out the critics of the experienced forward, Alhaji Grusah told Akoma FM that if other Black Stars players were committee as Andre Ayew, Ghana would have been very successful.

“For those who are asking for Dede's retirement, I want to ask how old is Cristiano Ronaldo?

“If only Dede can take good care of himself, we still need him. We can't go into a tournament without senior players. Ghanaians were angry over his penalty miss, but they soon forgot what he did for us against South Africa and Nigeria in both legs,” Alhaji Grusah said.

The owner of King Faisal added, “People were just making unnecessary noise about his reporting early at camp, was it wrong as a captain if he reports first at camp?

“If most of our players were committed and dedicated to the team just as Dede and his brother did for us, Ghana would have gone far.”

Andre Ayew, 33, was part of the Black Stars squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and scored against Portugal in the opening Group H match.