AFCON: Simon, Lookman play down Osimhen face-off

By Tosin Omojola –

Super Eagles players have described the face-off between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during the match against Mozambique as a non-issue.

Both strikers contributed to the 4-0 mauling of the Mozambicans in Monday’s second-round tie but were involved in a brief scuffle later on, exchanging words before they were calmed by teammates.

After the encounter, the team’s head coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, said the issue was not a big deal.

Similarly, some of the players, including Ademola Lookman, while reacting to the matter, played it down, saying the team was focused on the task ahead.

Winger Moses Simon said he did not notice anything serious and stressed that Osimhen remained an important fighter for the team.

“He (Osimhen) is a guy we know. He is always a fighter in the team. Of course, he will still fight for us. We need him, the team needs him, and I believe he needs us also. We just need to keep going,” he said.

On his own, Ademola Lookman said there was no issue between him and the Galatasaray forward.

“There is no issue. It is just football, Victor is my brother,” stated the Atalanta FC striker, who reiterated that the team remained focused and called on Nigerians to keep supporting the team.