Nigeria Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen raised eyebrows after he went on a live stream on Instagram to throw tantrums at Super Eagles head coach Finidi George.
In viral footage which we shared in our previous report, Osimhen said he has lost his regard and respect for Finidi George.
”I have lost the respect I have for that man (Finidi George),” he kept emphasizing in the footage while detailing when and where his relationship with the Super Eagles ex-international went sour.
Osimhen’s explosive video was met with both criticism and support from sections of Nigerian football fans. While others lashed out at the striker for his unguarded utterances in the video, others blamed Finidi George for the Napoli frontman’s rant.
Meanwhile, some Nigerian media outlets began reporting that the Nigeria Football Federation – the country’s apex football governing body – have banned Osimhen from the Super Eagles.
NFF react to reports of Victor Osimhen’s ban from Super Eagles
Nigeria Football Federation General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi debunked the report. Sanusi lashed out at some Nigeria media houses for needlessly fueling the flames of the crisis by peddling unconfirmed reports about Victor Osimhen’s ban.
He added that the NFF are focused on resolving the crisis and have not issued any statement yet on the issue.
“The NFF hereby implores the media to join hands with the body to positively resolve issues and then focus on the big picture all the time, rather than needlessly escalate certain matters.
“There was no official communication from the NFF, yet some persons have gone to town to talk about a ban on Osimhen from the national team. This is not good at all,” he said.
He then went on to emphasize that the body hopes to resolve the crisis soon and are looking forward to repositioning the team quickly for the 2025 AFCON and 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“Our focus presently is to resolve all matters around the Super Eagles and be able to look ahead with confidence to the 2025 AFCON qualifiers and the remaining six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification series This is not the time to spread falsehood and foul the public space the more.”
While contradictory reports on Osimhen’s status in the Super Eagles squad continue to make the rounds, Futballnews learnt Osimhen has travelled back to Nigeria from Italy a few days after the online outburst. We also shared a video of the CAF Footballer of the Year meeting Super Eagles legends like Jay Jay Okocha and other creme de la creme in Nigerian football.
What happened between Victor Osimhen and Finidi George?
Victor Osimhen last played for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the final of the 2023 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire in February 2024.
He returned to his club, Napoli, after the tournament. Meanwhile, NFF elevated ex-international and former Super Eagles assistant manager Finidi George to an interim manager and then to head coach after the exit of Jose Peseiro.
Since Finidi George assumed the reins as the new man in charge of the Super Eagles, Victor Osimhen has yet to add to his cap with the three-time African champions.
He was absent from the squad in the double-header international friendlies against Ghana and Mail and the two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
When asked about why the prolific Napoli striker is missing from the team, Finidi George said he can’t beg Victor Osimhen to play for the Super Eagles.
He went on to take a swipe at Nigeria football administrators for crippling him from taking action against recalcitrant players due to the backing of some senior figures at the top.
“I can’t beg Victor Osimhen to play for the Super Eagles. Some players here are backed by strong men at the top. So taking disciplinary actions is literally impossible,” he said.
Osimhen disputed the former Enyimba manager’s claims in his Instagram video. According to the 2022-23 Serie A Golden Boot winner, he wanted to join the Super Eagles in camp in the missed matches despite his injury but he (Finidi George) stopped him since he was not fit.
Meanwhile, before Osimhen’s furious outburst, sources close to the NFF said Finidi George had resigned from his role as Super Eagles manager. His decision to resign was linked to NFF’s move to demote him by deciding to hire a foreign technical adviser following back-to-back deadlock in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
