Super Eagles legend Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha has defended his nephew Alex Iwobi who has been subjected to cyberbullying since the Super Eagles lost the 2023 AFCON title to Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday night.
Following the team’s loss, Iwobi has been singled out for criticism. Some fans particularly questioned coach Jose Peseiro’s insistence on starting Iwobi against the host.
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 10 minutes of the game.
The attacks have forced the 27-year-old to stay away from social media for some time.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Okocha prayed for those bullying Iwobi and urged them to remember that all humans have on earth is each other.
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“I pray for my country Nigeria and the people that can only hate and see nothing good in others, when effort counts for nothing, treat people the way you want them to treat you, all we have is this life is each other, we love you @alexanderiwobi ❤️and we keep going no matter what they say,the lord is good all the time and we trust that his will be done in our lives amen,” he wrote.
Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa had on Monday also cautioned against bullying Iwobi.
Other members of the team, including assistant captain William Troost-Ekong, have also showed solidarity to the former Arsenal star.
