Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan did not breach the laws of the game by wearing a customised armband with his image on it in Ghana’s 2019 Afcon qualifier against Ethiopia on Sunday, 11 June at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

Although Fifa’s statutes say a captain’s armband “shall remain free of, and shall not produce, in Fifa’s discretion, the visual effect of a manufacturer’s identification, a sponsor, any decorative element or further elements, except for the word ‘captain’ or an abbreviation or translation thereof”, there are exceptions.

Classfmonline.com understands that Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye and other match officials were aware of the special armband ahead of the game.

The special armband could be used with permission from the match officials to mark a milestone.

In this instance, kit sponsor Puma, the match officials, and the Ghanaian captain were anticipating his 50th goal for the national team, having been on 49 goals before the game.

The player was also returning to the national team from injury and making his 102nd appearance for the national team, which was also a milestone.

Ayew could, therefore, not use the customised armband when Gyan was substituted and had to, therefore, resort to the use of the original captain’s armband which had the Puma logo on it.


Both Gyan and head coach Kwesi Appiah have confirmed to Class Sports that there is no rift between the two players in camp.

Ghana beat Ethiopia by five goals to nil, with Gyan scoring the first goal and his 50th as anticipated ahead of the game.