Former Asante Kotoko midfielder Sarfo Gyamfi said he suffered racist chants and attacks from fans of Liverpool during a UEFA Cup game in 1992 when he played for Austrian side Swarovski Tirol.
According to the former Ghanaian international, despite being an ardent supporter of Liverpool, he was called ‘monkey’ by the Liverpool fans and since then, he vowed never to support the English side again.
Gyamfi started his European career with Swarovski Tirol, when he played for the three-time Austrian champions for two years, from 1991-1993 before he crossed paths to German club FC Lokomotive Leipzig in 1993.
Speaking to Dan Kwaku Yeboah, Gyamfi said “Whenever I had the ball and shield the opponent, the fans of Liverpool chanted and call me monkey, and that was the very day I decided never to support Liverpool again because there was no need to insult a black person”
“After our exit from the UEFA Cup, I visited Tony Baffoe in German for holidays. I did enjoy my stay in Austria but it was much better and more comfortable in Germany when I joined Leipzig through Baffoe’s manager after I impressed in a community game when Ghana played against Nigeria”, he added.
Gyamfi played for Asante Kotoko from 1984 to 1990 and was also a member of Ghana’s squad that participated at the 1992 Africa Cup where Ghana reached the final but lost to Ivory Coast via penalties.
He played in Ghana for Neoplan Stars and Asante Kotoko in Ghana, while in Nigeria, he featured for Abeokuta Walls Rangers FC and Warri State Sugar Factory before moving to Europe where he played in Germany and Austria.
