Fatawu Mohammed, former captain of Hearts of Oak, has issued an apology to
fans of the club after his advice to forward, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh.
Mohammed has been with the Phobians for 10 years, after joining from Real
Tamale United in 2012. Six years later, he was named as the club’s captain
before earning his first and only Black Stars invitation ahead of a World Cup
qualifying fixture away to South Africa in November 2021.
Together with Barnieh, Mohammed ensured the Phobians ended a decade’s
trophyless spell by ousting rivals Kotoko, to the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League
and FA Cup titles. A year later, Barnieh was instrumental as Hearts
successfully defended the FA Cup, scoring in the quarter and semi-finals.
A year prior, the 21-year-old scored twice in the U-20 AFCON final victory
over Uganda, leading Ghana to its 4th silverware in the division as
captain. Subsequently, Barnieh was instrumental as Ghana’s Black Galaxies
staged a return to the CHAN tournament, scoring two goals in the play-off tie
with Nigeria, before being named in Ghana’s final squad to the 2022 World Cup.
These performances in a space of two years, saw the attacker’s stocks rise –
leaving his future with Hearts in the balance as he neared the end of his contract.
Club CEO, Togbe Afede, in November 2022 revealed, the club had made zero
progress in contract renewal negotiations with the player due to his engagement
with the Black Stars and Black Galaxies.
And with his contract set to expire at the end of the year, Hearts has recently
come under induced pressure after comments by Fatawu Mohammed.
However, the defender, speaking to Joy Sports revealed his explosive
interview was misconstrued.
“I had no bad intentions, because if you listen to the full video, I said if
Barnieh was to leave the club, it will be good for Hearts to gain something from
the transfer instead of him leaving for free. But I cannot advice him to stay
in the Ghana Premier League.
“But the understanding was different, so I will use this platform to
apologise to Hearts fans who got hurt. I am very sorry.”
Mohammed himself, is now without a club after being informed that his
services were no longer needed with the Premier League giants, as he confirmed
to Joy Sports’ Haruna Mubarak.
“For now, I am no longer a Hearts of Oak player. I have been told by the
management I can’t work for them anymore,” the 30-year-old indicated before
revealing the club was yet to fully release him.
“But I am still a Hearts of Oak player, because everything of mine is still
with them. So until I receive them I am still a player at Hearts.”
