Super Eagles forward Sadiq Umar has clapped back at his critics, warning them that he would not hesitate to fight back if pushed to the wall.
The 27-year-old stated this in an Instagram Story post on Tuesday night after teammate Alex Iwobi was forced to go off social media following attacks over his performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.
Since the Super Eagles were defeated at the final by host Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday night, Iwobi has been singled out for criticism.
The Fulham midfielder featured for 79 minutes as the Eagles failed to add to their three AFCON titles.
Iwobi was replaced by Alhassan Yusuf for the last few minutes of the game.
However, Umar, who was unavailable to play for the team at the tournament, warned that he would not fail to fight back unlike Iwobi.
He wrote in Pidgin English, “I no even play you con dey insult me abeg o. Me I no be Iwobi I go insult person papa with him mama join. Yes I be dat topical Hausa boy abi you see fear for my eyes.
“Pushing someone into depression and mental breakdown. Yet you want life to be better for you, e no fit even better for una! Vagabonds!!!”
Iwobi deletes Instagram posts as criticism mounts over AFCON final loss
Asisat Oshoala drags Tunde Ednut, VeryDarkMan for bullying Iwobi
There was controversy over the Real Sociedad’s striker’s inability to join the team to Cote d’Ivoire.
Umar was suspected to have picked up a knee injury in Nigeria’s friendly clash with Guinea before the start of AFCON.
After examination by the Nigerian medical team, a decision was reached that he would not be fit enough for AFCON and was replaced by Terem Moffi.
Not long after the footballer left the camp, he was seen back in training with Real Sociedad.
However, in a lengthy post on Instagram, he said he was assessed by Real Sociedad’s medical team and it was discovered that he had suffered a bruise and not a knee injury.
