A controversy has erupted ahead of Ghana's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying double-header against Somalia after the visiting team reportedly accused Ghanaian officials of intimidation following an interruption to their training session in Accra.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 10, at the University of Ghana Stadium, where Somalia's national team, popularly known as the Ocean Stars, were preparing for their upcoming encounters against the Black Stars.

According to reports, the Somali delegation had initially conducted training outside the stadium on Monday before approaching the University of Ghana for permission to use its main stadium facilities.

The team reportedly received approval and arrived at the venue on Tuesday to carry out its scheduled training activities. However, their preparations were unexpectedly interrupted when security personnel arrived and instructed the players and technical officials to leave the pitch.

The intervention forced the Somali team to abandon the session at the facility and return to an alternative training location outside the main stadium.

A video shared on social media by Ghanaian sports journalist Micky Jnr showed uniformed security personnel directing members of the Somali delegation to vacate the playing surface.

The footage attracted attention among football followers, particularly because the incident happened shortly before the two countries were scheduled to face each other in the AFCON qualifiers.

Members of the Somali delegation reportedly interpreted the intervention as an attempt to intimidate their team, arguing that they had already obtained permission to use the facility before being ordered to leave.

However, a different account of the incident has emerged from the Ghanaian side.

Ibrahim Sannie Daara, a former Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), explained that stadium officials maintained that Somalia had only been granted permission to use an auxiliary training pitch located outside the main stadium bowl.

This conflicting explanation has raised questions about whether the incident resulted from a misunderstanding over which training facility had been approved for the visiting team.

As of Tuesday evening, the Ghana Football Association, National Sports Authority, University of Ghana and Somali Football Federation had not issued official statements clarifying the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The controversy comes at a challenging time for both countries as they seek to revive their campaigns in Group C of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

Ghana and Somalia have reportedly lost their opening two matches and are yet to earn a point. The Black Stars suffered defeats against Côte d'Ivoire and The Gambia, while Somalia also struggled to secure positive results in their opening fixtures.

Ghana are scheduled to host Somalia at the Essipong Sports Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi on Thursday, November 12, before travelling for the return encounter on Monday, November 16. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 3:00 pm GMT.

With both teams under pressure to improve their positions, the upcoming fixtures represent an important opportunity to get their qualification campaigns back on track.

However, the disagreement over Somalia's training arrangements has introduced an additional controversy into the build-up to the matches.

Attention will now turn to the relevant football authorities for clarification on what happened at the University of Ghana Stadium and whether the matter will be formally addressed before the two teams meet.

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