Ex-international, Wahidi Akanni, on Tuesday described the recent allegation against Samson Siasia, that he demanded bribe from a player in order to play him in the national team as hilarious.
Akanni said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that a Nigerian footballer Dickson Nwakaeme, a professional footballer who plays as forward for Pahang FA in Malaysia League alleged that Siasia asked for bribe in order to play at the Beijing 2008.
“Siasia has a penchant for excellence, if you are not good enough, you can’t be on his team. This player in question, was he at any time better than a Mikel Obi or any member.
“Let him come out with proof to his claim, you just don’t come out to discredit an honourable person, Siasia’s record of selecting credible players has made him who he is not just in Nigeria but in Africa,’’ he said.
The former Chairman of Lagos FA told NAN that probably Siasia’s backroom staff could be guilty of such allegations.
“There are dubious people everywhere, they could be using Samson’s name to front, and because they work with him so it will be hard to doubt them.
“People can recommend people, and it’s left for the coach to filter through and decide on who can deliver, a lot of things can happen seriously,’’ he said.
NAN reports that David Alaba, Bayern Munich Star also alleged that he was asked to pay bribe to play in the Golden Eaglet at the South Korea tournament (NAN)
