Yet another football game does not go as expected for Ghanaians and John Boye more than any other has been the people’s favourite person to take the fall since the night on June 25, 2019.
In what is clearly not his first time, John Boye is the one to bear the brunt of Ghanaian indignation after the Black Stars defender was shown a red card in 2-2 draw against Benin in the opening game at AFCON 2019.
Boye was shown the red card in the 53rd minute after Tunisian referee Youssef Essrayri felt the Metz defender was wasting time on a free-kick awarded to Ghana.
Boye was going to knock the ball up-field from the Ghana half only to be called by goalkeeper Richard Ofori to leave it for him (Ofori).
Many Ghanaians have expressed on social media and in traditional outlets that they felt Boye’s expulsion was the turning point as Ghana was then leading 2-1.
But it is the view of YEN.com.gh that Boye has become the singular whipping boy for a set of problems that people are choosing to overlook.
1. Ghana was not playing any better than Benin
Ask anyone who has watched football carefully for the last 10 years whether Ghana is a better than Benin and they will answer affirmatively. But if you saw the game on June 25, you would not have thought so.
Blame it on the coach or blame it on the players. What we saw was shambolic and it is not John Boye’s singular fault.
2. The Benin side were on the ascendancy early in the second half
Benin went into the second half looking more like a side desperate to score. But that was not just it.
Ghana seemed like a side that was willing to counter-attack. When a side plays like that, that side invites pressure and that is what happened.
3. Tunisian referee Essrayri was poor on the night
The man moderating the game on the night was poor and that much cannot be underemphasised. Essrayri’s calls and that of his assistants, were pretty poor prior to showing Boye the exit.
It says very much about a referee who let Beninois players get away with repeated infringements and only started making similarly awful calls against them right after reducing Ghana’s numbers.
4. John Boye was actually one of Ghana’s best players on the night
As the stats show, before he was sent of Boye, a Ghana veteran of 10 years, was one of the best players for the Black Stars.
Numbers do not lie, the statisticians say.
