Ex Nigeria U-23 coach Samson Siasia has attacked former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel over comments he paid for players tickets to 2016 Rio Olympics.
Former Chelsea star, Mikel divulged that during a recent podcast appearance hosted by former England international Peter Crouch. He claimed that Nigerian football authorities failed to reimburse him for the flight expenses to Brazil, even though these costs were already included in the official budget. Mikel also accused top officials of diverting the allocated funds.
“There is a story where you paid for everyone’s flight,” Crouch asked.
“Yeah, for the Olympics,” Mikel responded. “There was no money to pay for the flight. For most of these players, it was their first major tournament. So I thought, why not? But to this day, I still haven’t been reimbursed.”
Crouch then asked, “Wait, so you got a medal and have still not been paid?”
Mikel replied, “Nope.”
However, Siasia refuted this version of events in an interview with Nigerian journalist Callistus Ebare.
“Mikel Obi did not pay any flight money for the Olympic Eagles from the United States to Brazil,” Siasia stated.
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“We only had issues with hotel bills. I think he did pay for some hotel expenses, but not for flights.”
Travel packages
According to Siasia, the team travelled with Delta Airlines after Nigerians in the U.S. expressed concerns about the situation. He mentioned that a friend contacted the airline’s chairman, which led to a resolution of the issue.
“Yemi Idowu had earlier paid for flight tickets, but the aircraft provided was too small. If Mikel has any receipts, he should show them. As the head coach, I can confirm he didn’t cover those flight costs.”
Taking a swipe at Mikel, Siasia added, “Maybe he is broke and looking for money. He should try other means.”
Despite facing logistical challenges, the U-23 Eagles ultimately secured the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, which became Nigeria’s only medal at the Games. The team arrived in Brazil just hours before their opening match against Japan, where they triumphed with a score of 5-4.
Following this win, they achieved a 1-0 victory over Sweden, allowing them to qualify for the quarter-finals, even after a 2-0 loss to Colombia in their final group match. Mikel scored in the 2-0 quarter-final victory against Denmark. However, Nigeria faced a 2-0 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals but bounced back to defeat Honduras 3-2 and ultimately claim third place.
