Former Ghana U-17 star Sebastian Barnes has revealed a grieved he has been habouring and enduring for the past 27 years as a results of accusations levelled against him by Ghanaians after the Black Starlets lost to Nigeria in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan.
Ghana, after impressing throughout the tournament en route to the final, lost to their West African counterparts Nigeria in the final match, and Sebastian Barnes, a member of the Ghana team, had all fingers pointed at him by Ghanaians for the lose with threats to kill his father.
The former Accra Hearts of Oak, Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz 05 icon narrated his ordeal in an exclusive interview with Television CK where he addressed varied issues ranging from playing career to life after football.
According to Barnes, he has watched the clip of the said match over and over again but sees no mistake of his in the build up that led to Nigeria’s 75th minute winner by Peter Anosike, which handed the Eaglets a 2-1 victory over Ghana on the fateful day. Accordingly, he cannot fathom why Ghanaians blamed him for the lose and went ahead to threaten to kill his father, not even giving credit to his sacrifice for the nation.
“It was Japan ’93 against Nigeria [in the final]”, Sebastian Barnes begun, speaking to multitalented and seasoned journalist, Jeffries Sintim Koree. “It was a throw-in so I kicked the ball out and they had to kick the ball in (free kick). Kick in is just like a corner kick, so if someone slides the ball [from an opponent] for a corner kick and the opponent team scores a goal from the resultant corner kick, will you blame the right back or the left back for the goal conceded? I have never heard this in the world”, Barnes questioned.
Narrating the incident, Barnes maintained his innocence, saying, there were other Ghana players with him in the box including Ali Jarar when the Nigerians scored, and he is worried and surprised why he should be blamed for the goal conceded.
“So why is it that I kicked the ball out for a throw in, and they kicked the ball back into play we were all standing there; Ali Jarrar, Samuel Osei Kuffour, Emmanuel OPoku, Mark Adusei – everybody, then Nigerian player heads the ball into the net, why should I be blamed for the goal Ghana conceded, in which way, to the extent of threatening to kill my father, in which way [I’m I to blame]? You answer me”, he moaned.
The incident has hunted him till date, according to him, a reason for which he refused to continue to play for the senior national team – The Black Stars when he was handed call ups later on.
“So that thing has hurt me till now so every time I go to watch this clip of Ghana vs Nigeria match and I ask myself; where did I make the mistake, why did Ghanaians say I’m the one who caused it? So it got to a point and it worried me and I decided never to play for Ghana again. It got to a point and I asked myself why should I play for Ghana again, never. The insults will come again”, he explained.
Barnes admits that the incident hunted him then because he was young at the time, and even till now, at the age of 44 it still hurts him.
Sebastian Barnes won gold with the Black Starlets in 1991 at the FIFA U-17 World Championship after beating hosts Spain by a 1-0 in the final courtesy Emmanuel Duah’s 77th minute strike.
