Ghana have snubbed a request from Italian side Juventus to release midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah before Saturday’s third place African Cup of Nations playoff against Mali.
The Juventus playmaker has been named in the Black Stars starting line-up for the match in Port Elizabeth as Ghana chase the bronze medal.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Friday that the Serie A side had approached Ghana for their player to be released for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Celtic.
According to the report, since Ghana was eliminated by Burkina Faso in the semi-final on Wednesday they wanted Asamoah to be released for the game so they third place match is not highly regarded.
From coach Kwesi Appiah’s selection it looks like Ghana did not agree to the request as he is in the team to play Mali.