Members of Ghana’s senior national team, the Black Stars, were left shaken after a string of theft incidents at their team hotel in Austria, just days before their international friendly match.
The game forms part of Ghana’s buildup to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be played in Mexico, Canada and the USA.
The unsettling development, which initially sparked reports of a “robbery”, has since been clarified by Fentuo Tahiru Fentuo, Sports Editor at Joy Sports, who is on the ground with the team.
Providing a detailed first-hand account, Fentuo explained that the situation involves theft rather than a violent robbery.
“To be honest, I’m sure all of you saw the reports from earlier about the robbery in the team hotel, and it’s not robbery per se,” he said.
According to his account, the incidents began quietly but quickly escalated into a serious security concern.
“So basically what happened was that two days ago, you know, they got back from training and one of the technical team members noticed that his 400 euros had been stolen.”
The situation worsened when a player discovered that a luxury watch, estimated at around $20,000, had gone missing.
“Now, while they were trying to sort it out and figure out how that happened, the next day they went to training again and came back, which was Wednesday. And they realised that another player’s watch this time, a Rolex that is valued around 14,000 or so USD, had also been taken from the room.”
The same staff member later reported an additional loss of €2,250, deepening concerns about repeated unauthorised access to rooms.
No forced entry; CCTV gaps complicate probe
Investigations have so far revealed no signs of forced entry, suggesting the thefts were carried out by individuals with legitimate access to the rooms.
Fentuo noted: “So that makes the entire investigation quite difficult to pursue, because there is no way of telling who went and how anyone entered the Black Stars hotel rooms.”
The situation was further complicated by a critical security lapse, an absence of surveillance cameras on the team’s floor.
“To the shock of everybody, there was no CCTV footage or CCTV cameras on the floor of the Black Stars players.”
Fentuo, who is staying in the same hotel, confirmed this after conducting his own checks.
“And truly, the cameras – in fact, there are no cameras installed on the fifth floor of the hotel.”
While no suspects have been officially identified, suspicion has fallen on maintenance personnel who reportedly had access to the rooms during the period of the incidents.
“What we are picking up is that there were some maintenance workers at the hotel on both days… So now the assumption is that they might have been those who did the stealing.”
Despite the involvement of Austrian police, no breakthroughs have yet been made.
“As things stand, there is no headway whatsoever as far as this investigation goes.”
Players unsettled but focused on match
The incidents created unease within the squad, with some players taking extra precautions to safeguard their belongings.
“What it has done is that it’s created a sense of insecurity for the players. And all of them left the hotel today. Some players actually took all their money and all their jewellery and put it in their backpacks and took it with them to the hotels.”
Despite the disruption, the team remained focused on their sporting assignment.
Fentuo disclosed that he had spoken directly to affected players.
“I spoke to the two players whose items were stolen… They’ve said that while they were a little ruffled by the incident, they are focusing on the game, which is the job at hand later tonight.”
Fentuo declined to name the players involved, citing ethical considerations.
“Absolutely. I know who those players are. However, I’m not at liberty to say because it’s very important to protect the identity of the players…”
“And this sort of information… I don’t think it’s right to mention which two players because then that could create even bigger problems for them than the $20,000 watch that they have misplaced.”
Echoes of past incidents
The development has revived memories of a similar security scare during the team’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, when players reportedly feared theft after receiving appearance fees.
“And at halftime, the first thing they did was run into the dressing room to check whether the money was in there… when they came back, their hotel was ransacked.”
The presence of experienced figures such as John Paintsil and Stephen Appiah within the team setup has meant that lessons from past experiences continue to influence current behaviour.
With the team scheduled to depart Austria for Germany shortly after the friendly, time constraints may limit the scope of the investigation.
It is not certain if the incident affected the players, as the Black Stars suffered a heavy defeat against Austria in their friendly game played on Friday evening.
The Black Stars were handed a 5-1 loss by their opponents at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Source link
