World Cup 2014: Boateng and Muntari expelled by Ghana

A statement on the Ghana Football Association website  said both players had “been suspended indefinitely”. It added that Boateng had used “vulgar verbal insults targeted at coach Kwesi Appiah”, while Muntari delivered an “unprovoked physical attack on an executive committee member”.

The news comes just hours before Ghana take on Portugal on Thursday.

Ghana still have an outside chance of qualifying for the knockout phase of the tournament.

They need to beat Portugal and hope there is a winner of the other Group G match between Germany and United States – although the Black Stars would also need to overtake their rivals’ superior goal difference.

And their task has now been made even harder now that Muntari and Boateng, two of the squad’s senior players, will not be involved.

The Ghana FA statement said the incident involving AC Milan’s Muntari took place on Tuesday and named Moses Armah, who is a member of the team management, as the man said to have been assaulted by the 29-year-old midfielder.

And Boateng, a 27-year-old Germany-born midfielder who plays for Schalke 04, was said by the Ghana FA to have shown “no remorse for his actions” which took place during the team’s training session in Maceio on Tuesday.

It is the latest blow to the Black Stars’ World Cup campaign that had already been blighted by a row over players’ appearance fees.

On Wednesday Ghana’s government sent in excess of $3m (£1.8m) in a chartered plane to Brazil to pay the squad following their threat to boycott their final group match against Portugal if they did not receive their money.

BBC Sports 

UM– USEKE.RW