Former Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan has responded to claims by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, that he (Asamoah Gyan) deliberately missed the penalty against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup because he did not want the National Democratic Congress government to enjoy the glory of being the party under which Ghana made history as the first African country to qualify for the semi-final stage of the World Cup.

Speaking on Onua TV, Asamoah Gyan described the comment by the lawmaker as ‘cheap talk’ borne out of bitterness that Gyan decided to offer his expertise to the campaign of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as chairman of the youth and sports sub-committee of the New Patriotic Party’s manifesto for the 2024 elections.

Asamoah Gyan explained that he decided to offer his help to the NPP because they are the only party that reached out to him and that he should be judged on his works and not his perceived political affiliations.

“Someone made a cheap statement that I missed the penalty against Uruguay because I'm a member of the NPP. The person knows my name, but I don't know him, and he made that cheap statement. I saw those words, and even his own party people turned on him. He apologized later,” he said.

It will be recalled that in March 2024, Nelson Dafeamekpor criticized Asamoah Gyan for accepting to be a member of the committee charged with drafting Dr. Bawumia’s manifesto for the 2024 elections.

"I think that Asamoah Gyan intentionally threw away that penalty because it was under NDC. It’s today that I’ve come to the realization that he threw away the penalty in the 2010 World Cup and the Africa Cup because the glory would have come to the NDC," he said on Radio XYZ.

However, after receiving backlash for his comments about Ghana's all-time top scorer, Dafeamekpor moved quickly to issue an apology to Gyan.

"The Black Stars & other national teams have iconically rallied & carried our passions, dreams, and aspirations for glory to the world," he wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Saturday, March 2.

"Upon reflection & calls from people like Kenpong, I retract & unreservedly apologize to Asamoah Gyan for my comments."

EK