I experienced segregation in Black Stars camp – John Paintsil

Former Fulham and West Ham United defender John Paintsil has disclosed that some of his colleagues promoted segregation at the Black Stars camp when he earned a call-up into the team.

There have been several media reports of tribalism in the senior national team. Some players were even accused of mobilising Muslims in the team against the Christians. But the reports were vehemently denied by some members of the team.

Paintsil who featured for the Black Stars in the Africa Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002 and Egypt in 2006 says he had to fight a teammate for looking down upon him.

“I experienced segregation even at the Black Stars camp. Some team mates had issues with why players Who come from certain parts of the country,” John Paintsil told Angel FM 102.9 in Accra.

“When I joined the Black Stars at one point I had to fight a team mate who looked down on me just because of where I come from.”

The former Liberty Professionals defender was a member of the Ghana Under-21 team that were runner-up in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Argentina.

He was also a member of Ghana’s 2004 Olympics football team.

He represented Ghana at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups held at Germany and South Africa respectively.