Soccer News of Thursday, 7 August 2003

Source: GNA

GFA yet to confirm Burkhard's sack

The widely reported sack of Black Stars German trainer, Burkhard Ziese by the Ghana Football Association, (GFA) his employers is still shrouded in doubt and uncertainty as the soccer governing body denies knowledge of it.

Speaking to the GNA Sports on Thursday, Mr Kofi Nsiah, General Secretary of the GFA said he was not aware that Burkhard had been served with any letter terminating his appointment.

He said to the best of his knowledge, a decision on the matter will be taken at a 'Board Meeting slated for this afternoon' and until the meeting is over, he could not say anything about the fate of the coach. Mr Nsiah said he did not know the source of media reports announcing the ejection of Burkhard as he, as the GFA scribe, has not issued any statement on the matter.

He said he could not vouch for the authenticity of any report, which is alleged to have emanated from Burkhard because the German is on record to have denied a recent story, which said he had planned to name those on his payroll.

The agitation for the sack of Bukhard Ziese gathered momentum after the German led the Black Stars to a 0-1 loss in Kigali against unsung Rwanda in a Nations Cup qualifier.

The Stars had earlier drawn 1-1 with Uganda in Kumasi and the loss in Kigali finally denied Ghana a place in the 18th edition of the African Cup of Nations, slated for Tunisia in February next year. Under the German, the Stars lost 3-1 to Nigeria in Abuja in an invitational fray and recorded negative results in a four-nation tournament in Tunisia.