"Its not my job, I'm a medical practitioner"
Accra, Sept. 9, GNA - Dr Nyaho Nyarho- Tamakloe, Chairman of the Ghana Football Association on Thursday, re-enacted his "militant" approach to sports administration, when he attacked sports journalists blaming them for the shock departure of Black Stars coach Mariano Barreto.
In an emotionally-charged press conference in Accra on Thursday, the GFA boss lambasted the media personnel and threatened to deal with them for what he termed was their unpatriotic criticism that forced the coach to abandon his post.
"I cannot take anything from any of you who decides to make "pull him down' his or her objectives in journalism; indeed some of you are doing it to me but I am a politician and can handle it", he said. Reminiscent of the tough character the medical doctor exhibited during his time with Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club in the late 1980s when he sacked most of the senior players for gross indiscipline, he told the press: "you must accept the responsibility for the coach's departure".
His dictatorial and intimidating comments were rebuffed by an equally firebrand youthful media personnel who challenged him with a barrage of questions.
The press told him that by shifting blame, he was reneging on his responsibility as the head of the GFA and should rather find ways of solving the problem.
Dr Nyarho-Tamakloe however will not succumb and flanked by Mr Joe Aggrey, a deputy Minister of Youth and Sports and Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Minister in Charge of Youth and Sports, he continued to attack the media relentlessly.
He then yelled, "Its not my job, I'm a medical practitioner", to which the media men reacted in unison; "its your job".
The tough talking Chairman then challenged any of the pressmen to takeover the running of the GFA if any of them was competent enough. Rosalind Amoh of the Graphic Sports told the GFA capo that the media had been lenient to the Portuguese coach who although was under the media searchlight prior to his appointment had had a tremendous support from the inky fraternity.
The conference was called to find ways of solving the coaching problem against the backdrop that the Black Stars have a crucial World Cup qualifier against DR Congo on October 10, but it turned sour. Buttressing his earlier statement, the GFA boss produced a copy of a weekly sports paper, "the Weekend Sports" which had carried a front-page story headlined, "Confusion in Stars camp" to justify his claim.
The conference from then became uncontrollable with some of the media personnel walking out while others refused to be intimidated and reacted with intermittent shouts, making it impossible for the GFA boss to say a word.
He screamed at the media personnel and ordered those who could not keep quiet to walk out.
Barreto guided the Stars' and the Olympic team to play 19 matches, won 15, drew two and lost two.
Among some of his high-profile matches was a 3-0 bashing of the South African national team at the Kumasi Sports Stadium to end a decade of dominance by the Bafana Bafana team.
The coach left for his native Portugal unceremoniously a day after an uninspiring 2-0 victory over Cape Verde to take up a new job with a Portuguese first division side S. C. Maritimo.
