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The Media Adviser to John Paintsil, Ebenezer Aidoo has confirmed to Peacfmonline.com that the Black Stars deputy captain John Paintsil is still a player of Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv. He confirmed that the player has not been told by the team to look for a new club as been gambled in the media. Accra-based JOY FM is purported to have said Hapoel Tel Aviv took the decision to release John Paintsil even before he was named in the Black Stars squad for the 2013 Africa Nation Cup in South Africa. According Ebenezer Aidoo, Hapoel Tel Aviv asked John Paintsil not to make himself available for the AFCON since the club needs him for some crucial matches in the Israeli league but Paintsil did not pay heed to their assertion. �The people (Hapoel Tel Aviv) actually told John that they needed him to stay, that if he goes to the Nations Cup, they may not allow him to see through his contract, and he (John Paintsil) told them (Hapoel Tel Aviv) that he has a contract with them and at the end of the day it�s his obligation to go to the national team, so for the Nations Cup, he (Paintsil) will go and play. ��So it�s just politic they (Tel Aviv) are playing. We still have a contract with them,� he said. He continued; �John is still a player of Hapoel Tel Aviv, he has not been released so he is okay. The time they (Tel Aviv) gave him is almost up so he is going to join them�. � ...They cannot just get up and say they have released him,� he added. The media adviser to Paintsil told Peacefmonline.com that, the former Fulham player is almost ready to leave the country to join his team mates in Israel but he is currently facing passport issues which will be sorted out soon. �He (JP) has one or two issues with his passport. He misplaced his passport so we are working on that, and the team must confirm that so he secures a new passport. We have also done everything possible to make sure he gets his work permit, but because the team is playing politics that is the reason why they are saying they have released him.� �They (Hapoel Tel Aviv) don�t want him to come because they warned him not to play in the AFCON and he (John Paintsil) turned his back on them,� he told Peacefmonline.com He however lauded the Ghana Football Association for their intervention in handling the issue. �The GFA is making sure that the problem is solved. They have contacted the club several times so we will see how we will work on that,� he said. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Hapoel Tel Aviv Rotem Grossman is alleged to have said that the club�s decision to release Paintsil has nothing to do with his recent assault case. John Paintsil made the headlines for some erroneous reasons in the local media last month following his arrest by the police for allegedly assaulting his wife and a neighbour.