Gor Mahia denies claim it refused to release players for Harambee Stars duty
Gor Mahia has denied claims that it failed to release players on time for national duty, thus letting the national team down.
Conspicuously missing from the Harambee Stars final squad for the twin clashes against Gambia and Gabon, were players from Gor Mahia and Tusker FC.
Only Ronney Onyango made it to the squad, having landed in the country from trials in Norway and was thus released immediately by Gor.
Ronney, Sylvester Owino, Alphonce Omija, Lawrence Juma, Ben Stanley Omondi, Alpha Onyango, and Austin Odhiambo had been called up in the initial squad list released by the Football Kenya Federation.
Stars coach Benni McCarthy, speaking in his post-match press conference following the 2-1 loss to Gabon, said that he had requested to have Gor players in camp earlier than expected but his request had been denied, forcing him to leave them out of his team.
"I can only choose from the players I have in camp. I made a request to Gor and it was denied. We did not complain and moved on," McCarthy said.
In a rejoinder, Gor Mahia CEO Raymond Oruo was quick to defend the club, explaining that the request from McCarthy came in the midst of Gor taking on Bandari in a Kenya Premier League match, forcing them to rebuff the request.
“I’ve seen the statement from the Harambee Stars head coach after the match against Gabon. The coach and FKF are well aware of the regulations governing the release of players for international duty," Oruo told Mozzart Sport.
"Our clubs should not be treated any differently.”
He stated that all the players who were called up were released immediately after the Bandari clash but also seemed to believe that the coach had decided otherwise since he attended the Bandari clash.
"The club will continue to support national team efforts," he added.
Gor players will certainly feature heavily in the squad for the upcoming African Nations Championships CHAN competition which will be held in August, if McCarthy chooses to call them up.
