Brazil 2014 World Cup Bonus Row: Black Stars Players Insulted Officials, Moses Armah Slapped for No Reason - Sannie

Senior Confederation of Africa Football(CAF) Media Officer, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, has blamed recurring bonus disputes involving the Black Stars on the failure of authorities to honour financial commitments made to players.

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Sannie Daara said the root cause of many player revolts was not greed, but the repeated failure of officials to pay agreed bonuses and allowances on time.

"The problem has been and always will be that when you make promises to people, keep it," he said.

According to him, football administrators frequently assured players that their money would arrive, only for the payments to be delayed or never made.

"Management kept telling the players, 'the money will come, the money will come, the money will come.' That was the problem," he stated.

Sannie Daara recalled that payment issues had existed for years, even before the widely publicised bonus disputes involving the national team.

"We have a history as Ghanaians where people will even pay to come and play for Ghana and their monies will not be reimbursed. It happened when we were journalists covering the team. People would pay their own plane tickets and they would be told they would be refunded, but the money never came," he said.

He noted that the frustrations eventually boiled over, leading to tense confrontations between players and officials.

"The players were revolting and they were very angry. They were saying really ugly things that they would normally not say," he recounted.

Daara's comments revisited the well-documented 2014 FIFA World Cup bonus standoff in Brazil, when Black Stars players threatened to boycott training and their final group match unless unpaid appearance fees were settled, a crisis that was only resolved after government airlifted $3 million in cash to the team's hotel, but not before tensions in camp had boiled over.

Sannie Daara expressed sympathy for former Black Stars management committee chairman Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, saying he often received criticism for matters beyond his control.

"I feel pity for Elvis Afriyie Ankrah because it was not his fault. It was beyond his power. He doesn't work at the Finance Ministry," he said.

The veteran football administrator also revealed that some management members suffered personal attacks from disgruntled players during the period.

He recounted an incident involving businessman and football administrator Moses Armah Parker, popularly known as Moses "Moshosho" Armah.

"I was sitting next to Moses when he was slapped. Just because the country had promised to give them the money and the money did not come," he disclosed.

He also recalled one especially pointed exchange involving Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, the businessman popularly known as Sikkens, owner of the Alisa Hotels group and a member of the team's management committee at the time.

"Look at somebody like Sikkens," Daara said. "I heard a player whisper to him, 'The coins you have in Ghana, you think you can come and talk to us when you have not paid us our money?”

Despite condemning some of the players' actions, Sannie Daara said officials must also accept responsibility when agreements are not honoured.

"Sometimes you want to be harsh towards the players because of the way they reacted, but you also have to sympathise with them. When you make an agreement with somebody, keep the promise."

He urged football authorities and government officials to ensure that commitments made to national team players are fulfilled promptly to avoid future conflicts.

"Our leaders, please, when you make promises to the players, keep your promises because the players have also done their part of the bargain," he added.