Super Eagles defender, Kenneth Omeruo has warned Nigerian fans that cyber-bullying can affect the confidence of the players.
Omerio stated this on the backdrop of the Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nation, where some Super Eagles players were attacked on social media.
In a chat with ARISE News, Omeruo stated that the outcome of the attacks could force some of the players to quit the national team.
He also rated Ola Aina as one of the best players in the tournament.
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“There are a lot of people who are angry for nothing’s sake and they will come at you. Before this tournament we have been getting criticisms.
“For example, someone wrote to Ola Aina on Instagram, ‘I hope you die’. They just write whatever, they don’t care about the consequences and most times I have stopped myself from replying to a lot of messages.
“If I reply like this, one blog will pick it and they will make a big deal out of it but we just have to grow thick skin and hopefully keep winning because when we win they forget about every other thing.”
He continued: “I was speaking to Ola and he made some comments that I won’t say here but if we lose a player like him just because of some bullying from some fans that are not even important, then it is going to affect us.
“Imagine Ola Aina, for me, was one of the best players in the tournament and was named in the Team of the Tournament as well.”
1 Comment
Fans will forever be fans and criticism and soccer will also be 5&6 forever but cyber bullying is what I frown at, bigger and more established players have been a subject of criticism before so it’s never gonna stop, you guys just gat develop a thick skin to withstand it and never let them get into you.
Criticizing your players didn’t mean the fans hate them but just the only way to show there displeasure, Vini,cr7 and many others have been bullied and attack multiple times, yet they show what they got on the soccer pitch, so @omeruo you gat talk to them to not let it get into them, I watch iwobi against Aston villa and I’m happy he is back to his usual self.