Siasia Blasts Media Over Mikel Bribery Report, Issues Denial

Former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia has distanced himself from reports claiming that ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel or his agent offered him €50,000 to secure a spot in Nigeria’s squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Siasia, Nigeria’s U23 coach during the 2008 Beijing Games, recently alleged in an interview that John Shittu offered him €50,000 to include Mikel in the Olympic squad—despite the midfielder missing out on the qualifiers.

Speaking on Brila FM’s Big Interview, Siasia expressed disappointment over how his words had been misrepresented by sections of the Nigerian media.

“I won’t talk to Nigerian journalists again. Why would anyone say I said Mikel or his agent offered me money?” Siasia said during the programme.

The 57-year-old insisted that he never accused Mikel or his representative, John Shittu, of offering a bribe and lamented that his reputation was being tarnished over a distorted interpretation of his remarks.

His reaction comes after Shittu, in a statement to the press, denied the bribery allegation and also revealed he had taken legal steps, demanding a retraction and ₦250 million in damages from Siasia for defamation.

The controversy erupted after a clip surfaced online in which Siasia discussed the 2008 Olympic squad selection process.

As reported earlier, he had mentioned that Mikel did not participate in the qualifiers but wanted to be included in the final squad, which Siasia claimed to have rejected out of fairness to the players who had secured qualification.

“He didn’t play the qualifiers. So I should remove someone who helped us qualify to bring him in? It won’t happen,” he earlier said.

The former coach added,

“People who played to qualify should go.”

Mikel eventually missed out on the 2008 Games, with Nigeria going on to win a silver medal. He would later feature prominently at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, leading Nigeria to a bronze medal.
Siasia is yet to issue an official statement or apology to address the growing legal threat from Mikel’s camp, however.