Former Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, has expressed his disappointment over the public altercation between Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen and former coach Finidi George.
The controversy erupted following an unverified report claiming that Finidi had questioned Osimhen’s commitment to the national team.
The allegations surfaced during the twilight of Finidi’s tenure as Super Eagles coach, a period marked by a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign. Osimhen, sidelined due to injury during the crucial matches against South Africa and Benin Republic, reacted vehemently to the claims, expressing his displeasure with Finidi in a strongly worded social media post.
Pinnick condemns Osimhen outburst
In an interview with Arise TV, Pinnick, who served as NFF president from 2014 to 2022, said, “That ranting was so unfortunate. I put a call through to Osimhen and I made him understand that I didn’t like what he did and he spoke to me with remorse. And I told him to channel his remorse to the appropriate quarters.
“I don’t know what went wrong. It was just a moment of madness so to speak. But that is not the Osimhen that I know. Osimhen comes to me as a very humble boy; I don’t know others and we have maintained that relationship.”
Pinnick also stresseed the importance of respect for legends, but put the incident forward as an example of the pitfalls with appointing indigenous coaches..
“He (Finidi) has won virtually every honour available during his playing days and was a member of the Super Eagles at their peak when Nigeria ranked fifth in the world.
“I believe players should learn to respect their coaches. Yes, Nigerian coaches possess the necessary knowledge and technical skills, but modern football demands more in terms of managing players.
“‘Will the national team players respect their coach? Unfortunately, it seems they do not.”
