AFCON 2021: Nigeria fans deserved more and we owe it to you – Alex Iwobi
Nigerian footballer, Alex Iwobi has apologized to all the Super Eagles fans after their sudden exit from the African Cup of Nations at the knockout stage in Cameroon.
After a good run in the group stage which saw Nigeria win all three of their matches and were the only team to do so at the 33rd edition of the competition, they could not get past the round of 16 after losing 1-0 to Tunisia on Sunday.
Youssef Msakni notched the all-important goal in the 47th minute to end the Super Eagles fairytale run in the competition.
The 25 year old who currently plays for Everton in the Premier League was red carded 7 minutes after coming on by Senegalese referee, Maguette Ndiaye.
Alex Iwobi in a tweet said,
“The Beauty Of The Game Is That The Next Moment Of Jubilation Is Never Too Far Round The Corner. We Will Be Back To Fight For Our Nation, Stronger. We Owe It To You, And I Owe It To Myself. Thank You All For All The Words Of Support & Encouragement – It Doesn’t Go Unnoticed.”
Iwobi’s apology comes just a day after Nigerian legend, Jay-Jay Okocha supported the decision by the referee to send off Iwobi. Okocha, who is the uncle of Iwobi said the former Arsenal player deserved the red card whether it was intentional or not.
Okocha told Supersport,
“As players, we always try to retain possession, especially when you have had a bad touch, but also the referee dished out yellow first because he realized that it wasn’t dangerous play until the VAR called him”.
Okocha’s verdict clearly contradicts that of many Nigerians who believe Alex Iwobi shouldn’t have been sent off since the foul wasn’t intentional.
It really got to me….after being the only team to get 9points at the group stage; to be defeated like that made me upset….Alex was deserving of the red card in my opinion…it was a reckless tackle…we live to play another day hoping we have learnt from our mistake…..
It is unfortunate that he is an unlucky player.