By Milcah Tanimu
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is set to discipline Super Eagles’ top striker, Victor Osimhen, for his verbal attack on the former national team coach, Finidi George.
Finidi George, who resigned on Friday after the NFF announced plans to hire an expatriate coach, was criticized by Osimhen following reports that the coach had questioned the striker’s commitment to the team. Osimhen’s comments came after missing crucial World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic, resulting in a 1-1 draw and a 1-2 loss, dropping Nigeria to fifth in their group.
NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Finidi George have both reached out to Osimhen, emphasizing that the reports he reacted to were false and misleading. However, Osimhen did not retract his statements despite this clarification.
An NFF board member stated, “Osimhen is a role model, and to help the incoming coach establish authority, we need to set an example. He crossed the line with his outburst and has not retracted his statements even after Finidi’s explanation. We won’t tolerate such behavior, and after the Salah break, we will address this issue. Osimhen will not be part of the team until he apologizes for his actions.”