NAIROBI, Kenya, October 31, 2025 – Mathare United head coach John ‘Guardiola’ Kamau has accused his Gor Mahia counterpart Charles Akonnor of unsporting behaviour after the Ghanaian reportedly refused to greet him before their Kenya Premier League encounter at the Kasarani Stadium on Thursday evening.
Kamau, who subsequently refused to shake Akonnor’s hand after the match, said he was simply responding in kind to what had been done to him before the tie.
“No, it’s very simple… if you don’t greet me before we start the game, why do you want to greet me after the game? I mean, you have your own reason. So I have also my own reason not to greet you after the game,” Kamau said.
The former Harambee Stars assistant coach further accused Gor’s assistant coach Kobi-Bismark Mensah of making a mountain out of a mole hill after Kamau declined Akonnor’s greetings after the game.
“I think the deputy made it a big thing. Because I think there were some people around there. We are professional enough, but if you don’t greet me, then I don’t greet you,” he said.
Kamau added: “I didn’t feel disrespected. The only concern was, he (Akonnor) didn’t give me a hand (before the game) because they even passed behind our technical bench. So it’s a simple language… ‘I don’t want to say hi to you.”
Simple miscommunication
In response, the Ghanaian said the scuffle was the result of a misunderstanding between the technical benches of the two sides.
He revealed that he was not around when Kamau sought to say hi before the game.
“Oh, I think he wanted to say hi before the game starts. He wanted to greet me. I wasn’t around, you know, and I don’t remember him coming to me to greet me or to say good luck or whatever,” the former Asante Kotoko head coach said.
The former Ghana national team head coach further criticised Kamau’s reaction at the end of the game but attributed it to his team’s defeat by K’Ogalo.
“After the match, he finished his interview and was going. I wanted to say something. But it’s one of those things, he’s not in a happy mood. He’s lost and I can understand him. But to use certain words, I think it’s unacceptable in our game,” Akonnor said.
Gor took all the points courtesy of goals by Shariff Musa and Bryceson Wangai in the second half.
