By Toby Prince
Some English Premier League players are paying Juju men thousands of pounds in an attempt to improve their careers on the field, The Sun on Monday has reported.
The article makes several stark accusations, including that some of these footballers are getting duped by fake witchdoctors.
Crucially, the paper fails to name and shame any of these footballers; however the article does suggest that those players who are involved in these ritual practices come from West Africa.
Nigeria striker, Brown Ideye, who recently joined Greek side, Olympiakos, and the wife of an unnamed supposed Premier League player were the two red-top sources for the revelation.
Ideye was quoted as saying: “I know players who get involved with the Juju men and they can’t get out. It’s a trap. They might get short-term benefits, but in the long run they pay for it. Juju men have a lot of influence.”
The wife of the unnamed Premier League footballer made even crazier allegations.
“To some of the African players, the Juju man is more important than the manager of the club. If the Juju man told my husband to stop playing football, he would never kick a ball again,” she claimed.
“My husband has gone back to his village several times to be cleansed. The Juju man might ask him to bring a sacrifice — a spotless white goat, lamb or chicken — which would be slaughtered and then various oaths are made,” she said.
There are many fake witch doctors driving around in Range Rovers and living in mansions. But the genuine Juju man lives in a hut with no water or electricity.
The woman continued: “I don’t think the English players know too much about all this, but some managers are definitely aware because the players excuse themselves at the drop of a hat when the Juju man comes calling.”
The Sun’s article finishes off with a strange story, which appears to suggest to readers that the witch-doctors in fact have magical powers.
According to the story, a witchdoctor held a Premier League team to ransom, and the black magic affected the result on the pitch.
The paper claimed a witch doctor threatened to curse an English team on the eve of a crucial European match if they did not pay him £50,000.
He had turned up at the team’s hotel, but the captain dismissed the claim despite the pleas from an African team-mate.
The team lost the game with both players making notable errors. A source said: “It was creepy stuff.”
