Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah wants over-critical fans to respect aging players in the game rather than prematurely calling time on their careers.
Having faced such calls during his final days with national team, Appiah, 31, has turned out to continue showing good form for club side, Vojvodina in Serbia.
And he reckons the game in Africa will have to take a cue from Europe where aging players like the Manchester United duo of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes still thrive big leagues despite both past their mid-thirties.
“We [players] don’t retire early but is rather the people that force some of us to retire,” a surprised Appiah told Joy Sports.
“Is unbelievable and i find it difficult to understand why people try to retire footballers in Africa, it hardly happens in Europe because the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are still playing.”
Appiah, who announced his decision to retire from international football following Ghana's quarter-final finish at the 2010 FIFA World Cup believes the sport tends to miss the valuable experience of such old guards due to fan pressures.
“We should put a stop to this because it doesn’t help,” he said.
