Asante Kotoko Interim Management Committee member, James Kwasi Appiah has revealed that the club refused to demand a refund of GHC10,000 given to Fatau Safiu before his contract termination.
Kotoko terminated Safiu’s contract just about three weeks after signing for the Reds for a second spell contract due to a hidden ligament injury.
Speaking with GhanaSportspage.com, Kwasi Appiah has confirmed that the club had paid the player the aforementioned amount before learning about the injury.
Despite being disappointed by the player’s action, the former Kotoko coach said he asked that the player keep the initial deposit.
“So we said if this is the situation, we have given him 10k already, so I told him to keep it. But we can not continue the contract, ” he confirmed to ghanasportspage.com.
He further narrated how they found out about Safiu’s injury that required surgery.
“So the boys returned from a two-week break and he joined them to train. While they were training, Ohene Brenya (team manager) noticed that he was limping, so he was told to stop training. Normally, every player needs to do a medical checkup before signing. So we had to let him do his medical”, He said.
“After the first medicals, the doctors said he had a ligament tear in his knee. He was taken to another doctor who also said his ligament would need surgery.
“We sent the report to one Black Stars doctor who said his injury would require surgery and he would be fit after a year.”
“That’s when we decided to terminate the contract because he didn’t tell us the truth.”
The club, in a statement, cited medical problems as the reason for the contract termination.
Safiu took to X to react, quoting the club’s official statement and wrote: Alhamdulilah’, which means ‘Praise be to God.’’
Asante Kotoko announced the signing of Safiu on a two-year deal on January 15.
The former Trelleborgs FF forward was set for a second spell at the club since departing the club in 2019.
Safiu enjoyed a sensational first spell, scoring 13 goals in sixteen appearances and led the lines in the team’s impressive run in the CAF Confederation Cup.
He won the best player and top scorer of the Normalization Committee’s special competition, which earned him a move to Sweden.
