By Peter Kanjere
Zambia national football team coach Avram Grant has hit back at the Chipolopolo star striker Fashion Sakala over the claims he made after he was dropped from the squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers for Africa.
Sakala reportedly claimed via a leaked audio that the former Chelsea manager dropped him from the squad for Zambia after he refused to sign for a sports agency linked to the Israeli.
This did not please Grant who told a press conference in Zambia that the Saudi Arabia-based striker’s remarks ‘were total lies.’
The former Ghana’s Black Stars coach claimed that he has had issues with the Al Fayha FC striker over his poor attitude and work ethic and even made this known to him through a text message alongside four other players for the Zambia national team.
Grant claimed that it was only the former Glasgow Rangers FC player who reacted angrily to the text message allegedly by saying: “Who are you to speak to me like this? You’re not the boss of football in Zambia; you don’t decide things.”
“I was a very good coach before now I am not very good. But more than this, he accused me of things that nobody has ever accused me of in 51 years of coaching…It is a false accusation and complete lies. Each word is complete lies. This is 51 years of coaching. It didn’t change here,” Grant said.
The former Portsmouth coach steered Zambia to the last Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in over eight years, but Chipolopolo struggled and exited the Ivory Coast tournament from the group stages.
Grant will embark on a fresh challenge as he leads Zambia in the qualifiers for the World Cup starting with a trip to Morocco on June 7 2024 in a Group E match.
