Avram Grant must watch his words

Black Stars coach, Avram Grant 

If there’s one trap so easy to fall into in Ghana especially as a public servant, it’s losing focus on your assigned task and responding to your critics. There are too many people presently in our media space with acidic tongues – people who have little or no respect for decorous language; people who equate speaking their minds to using strong, abusive language.

Sadly, they think they are right. From observation, such people enjoy cheap media attention. What they don’t know is that, they are hardly listened to by discerning people – not because what they say are always irrelevant but because of their choice of words.

The intemperate language they use often give them away as insolent. Even if they have a good case, they are unfortunately not heard. Our football, political and only recently, religious landscape harbour many of such folks. They are best known for negative, vitriolic criticism.

Sadly after the Ghana-Mozambique, 2017 AFCON qualifier in Accra, Black Stars coach, Avram Grant, fell into that “trap” I mentioned. He responded to his critics in the harshest possible manner and till date, the man himself and his employers see nothing wrong with his remark.

I wasn’t at that post-match event where the coach spoke but watching the video posted on TV3’s Facebook Page, it was disgusting seeing Avram Grant advising us to focus on the football yet at the same time, creating the platform for his critics to hit back at him for needless insult.

The coach just needs to focus on his job. If he has something to tell the public, he must do so employing the best language. His employers must tell him that. He can’t use any language and assume, Ghanaians will accept it. “If this nation will concentrate on the football and not the bull***t; just the football, because there’s a lot of passion, we can reach higher, high level.

It’s a long term target but it achievable…” Coach Avram Grant said.

This could have passed as a harmless advice. But was there the need for that foul term? His comment was (and still is) insulting. I can’t believe that, there has been no word or apology either come from him or his employers – the Ghana Football Association (GFA) up to Easter Monday when I wrote this piece. Is it that the GFA endorse his language or they see nothing wrong with it?

The coach may not be happy with his critics but he can’t talk anyhow. He may not like the sort of things said about him; his team or the GFA but is his choice of words the best? He and his agent who recently spoke appear not to have any respect for Ghanaians considering how their responses to certain issues.

It isn’t that, Grant doesn’t have the right to show his disagreement. The point is, his language doesn’t augur well for good discourse. He must be told rig

ht in the face. This is Ghana and Africa for that matter. Regardless of the state of affairs here, who you are and what you represent, we have customs, which instruct us on how to talk. If Avram Grant doesn’t know, he must be told to watch how he speaks publicly.

You can call me a purist, I’m not sure I’m one. I however detest public officials who speak anyhow and Avram Grant shouldn’t be one. We have very decent-minded individuals at the GFA. My question is: Would any of them tolerate Avram Grant’s choice of words any of our local coaches?

From June 2014, when the Black Stars exited from the World Cup in Brazil, their relationship with Ghanaians hasn’t been the best. Some people for example think, too much money is being spent, if not wasted on the Black Stars who haven’t given anything much in return.

Will those people be justified to mount media platforms and use Avram Grant’s choice of words on the Black Stars? If we are advising the media to be decorous, public officials paid with our taxes must as well embrace the same advice. It serves no good purpose talking to the media carelessly and when the media respond, we are quick to brand them as harsh.