Former Super Eagles coach Finidi George has finally opened up about the allegations made by Victor Osimhen in June.
Victor had accused Finidi of questioning his commitment to the national team, sparking a heated debate in Nigerian football.
Finidi’s Response
In an interview with Nigeria Info Port Harcourt, Finidi expressed shock and disappointment at Victor’s outburst.
“No doubt, he called me, he was injured. He said, “Coach, I can come and support the team”. I told him, “No, this is a vacation period, go and have time with your family.”
Finidi explained that he had a good working relationship with Victor during his time as assistant coach under Jose Peseiro.
“We had a workable relationship. I had never questioned his commitment. I was surprised when I saw the video.”
What Happened?
In June, Victor took to Instagram Live to accuse Finidi of painting him in a bad light while also rejecting his offer to support the team despite being injured.
“I asked Finidi George to allow me to stay with the players in the camp, but Finidi asked me not to bother, that I should stay with my family.
“Now, after two bad games, everybody is blaming me. I know how many injuries I’ve played with for Nigeria and I played my heart out, but after two bad games, everybody is attacking me,” Osimhen lamented.
However, Finidi said he never questioned Osimhen’s commitment.
“I was just thinking, we did not even talk about Osimhen. So how, there was no prior interview before this his ‘Instagram rant’. You cannot, today, find any interview from me saying that he was not committed. I have not spoken about Osimhen. For me, it was a shock.”
Finidi’s attempt to reach out
Finidi revealed that he tried to contact Victor after the video surfaced online but never received a response.
“Somebody sent it to me. I’m not a social media person, somebody forwarded it to me. He was like, “Oh boy, you don see this one?” I said, “No ooo”. Then I sent him (Victor) a message that said, “What did you hear that you’re going hard on me like this? I said it’s not fair.”
“…He (Victor) sent me a message which he later deleted. I couldn’t read what he said, I don’t know if he apologised or he didn’t. I could not read his messages before he deleted it.”
Moving on
Despite the saga, Finidi, who is now in charge of Nigeria Premier Football League side Rivers United, has moved on and wishes Osimhen a prosperous career.
“I’ve moved on. Osimhen is someone I’ve always liked and that will not change. He has made a mistake, but I’ve moved on, I can’t be thinking about that. It’s already spilled milk. My life goes on and I wish them well, I wish him well in his career.”
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