Former Black Stars goalkeeper, Owusu Mensah, recently revealed a surprising detail about Ghana's 1982 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) victory.
The medal and trophy presentation, which is traditionally held on the pitch, was instead conducted in a hotel. This unusual change in procedure was a result of the Ghanaian team being attacked by angry Libyan fans.
Ghana clinched the tournament after a nail-biting penalty shootout against the host nation, Libya. The regular time had ended in a 1-1 draw, with George Alhassan scoring for Ghana in the 35th minute and Ali Al-Beshari equalizing for Libya in the 70th minute. Ghana eventually triumphed 7-6 in the penalties. Alhassan, a Ghanaian forward, was the tournament's top scorer with four goals.
"Normally it was done at the top (stadium) you will climb up when it got to the time to go for the cup we were beaten so we couldn't go for it. What I am saying has never happened before you can ask the players who were there," Owusu Mensah told Ernest Bruce Smith Show on YouTube.
"Ask George Alhassan, Opoku Nti, Haruna Yusif it has never happened before presentation of medals and trophy did not happen after finishing the game it didn't happen. We were beaten by the Libyans so we run away," he added.