Former Hearts of Oak Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Neil Armstrong Mortagbe, has slammed former Black Stars head coach Chris Hughton for sidelining Richmond Lamptey at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

"The fact that a player plays locally does not mean he cannot play for the Black Stars. We have all seen what Richmond Lamptey has done for Asante Kotoko, and I struggled to understand why he was never used, even when Majeed Ashimeru was injured. There were times when Richmond Lamptey was not even on the bench."

Lamptey was an unused player in the three games Ghana played at the AFCON, failing to make any of the matchday squads.

He was one of the three local players who made the final squad for the tournament. None of them got minutes.

The Black Stars had a poor outing at the 2023 AFCON, drawing two, and losing one of their three games played in Group B.

A 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde in the opening game was followed by 2-2 draws with Egypt and Mozambique in the second and final group matches respectively.

With just two points and a goal deficit, the Black Stars recorded successive group-stage exits from the AFCON, having suffered the same fate in the 2021 edition.



EE/NOQ