"Alcohol-soaked" Blay blames traffic for delay

Ghana defender George Blay has denied that he arrived in Mali four days late because of a drinking binge, claiming instead that he was held up in traffic.

An FA official said: "He was soaked in alcohol, could not co-ordinate his thoughts, his speech was slurred and he was staggering when he tried to walk."

The Standard Liege star was also unable to meet with President John Kufour before his departure, as he arrived at the secretariat of the FA in Accra several hours late.

"George's situation was so bad, he could not have been allowed to travel alone," an FA official told the Daily Graphic. "New arrangements were therefore made for him to leave with a Ghana Airways flight on Tuesday."

The whole squad was given a day off from training on Thursday to allow them to travel to Sekondi-Takoradi, but Blay failed to report back to camp.

When he did arrive in Mali, he explained: "All those stories are lies. The officials are all aware of my wherabouts.I was held up by traffic on my way to the airport to join the team. I have had to attend to my sick mother after we were given a day off to sort ourselves before the trip to Mali."