Soccer: Fash warns Kanu in Olympics row
Monday, 4 September 2000 22:40Arsenal striker Kanu can discount a return to his native Nigeria for the next 20 years if he decides to forsake the Super Eagles' bid to retain their Olympic title. That at least is the advice for him from Nigerian sports ambassador John Fashanu. The one-time Wimbledon target man believes Kanu has been put in an unenviable position as he seeks to make a choice between club and country.
But he also warned the player of the reaction he is likely to provoke if he sticks to his Gunners after writing to the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) asking them to leave him out of the squad for Sydney. "If he does not go to the Olympics I do not think there is any point in him going back to Nigeria for his holidays for the next 20 years," Fashanu told BBC Radio 5.
The rest of the Nigeria squad have arrived in Australia for the Games, but officials admit there is a good chance Kanu will not show up. "Kanu has written to the NFA asking to be excluded from Nigeria's soccer title defence in Sydney," said an NFA spokesman. "The secretariat received Kanu's letter at the weekend. In the letter Kanu gave several reasons why he should be left out of the Olympics. We are very unhappy about this development - more so when the player had given us his word that he would play in Sydney. Kanu should not work against his country." (PA)
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
