The team manager of the Black Stars, Ameenu Shardow, has dismissed reports Andre Ayew was left out of the official matchday squad for Ghana’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola in Kumasi.

Ghana hosted Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium on matchday three of the qualifiers in what was Chris Hughton’s first game in charge of the national team. However, the most talked about incident from the game was the omission of Ayew’s name from the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA’s) graphic to announce the squad for the game.

There were reports the captain had been dropped for the game but Ayew was with the team during the warm-up session before also being seen on the bench as the game progressed, leaving many wondering what the mistake was.

Shardow, speaking on Joy Sports’ space on Wednesday, March 29, explained the mix-up with Ayew’s name.

“It’s not true that Andre Ayew was not on the list of the official matchday squad [against Angola in Kumasi]. Even in the Ghana Premier League, if you’re not on the official list as a starter or a substitute, you can never be on the bench,” he said.

“Andre Ayew was on the bench and warmed up at some point in time only that he didn’t get the chance to play.

“If your name is not on the list, you have no business around the technical area or on the bench. We all saw the player on the bench so it should tell you something [that he was part of the matchday squad],” he added.

Ayew was then forced to withdraw from the squad for the reverse fixture in Luanda with a knee injury.