Former Super Eagles striker Brown Ideye has contacted Victor Osimhen to criticize him for his recent online attack on coach Finidi George, Soccernet.ng reports.
Ideye, a key player in Nigeria's 2013 Africa Cup of Nations win, strongly condemned Osimhen's actions and urged the Napoli forward to publicly apologize to Finidi, a respected figure in Nigerian football.
Last week, Osimhen took to Instagram Live to criticize then-Super Eagles head coach Finidi, accusing him of questioning his commitment to the national team. Finidi has denied these allegations and has since resigned from his role as head coach.
Osimhen's outburst has sparked widespread reactions among Nigerian football fans and stakeholders.
Brown Ideye, speaking on The Naija Football Conference via the social audio platform X Space, stressed the importance of direct communication over public outbursts.
“What Victor did is wrong,” Ideye noted. “A lot of people can say he had to defend himself. What are you defending, who are you trying to explain to that you have an injury?
“You don't need to explain to people that you have an injury that's why you're not in camp. Call the coach to see if he really said what he said before going out there to your social media platforms.”
Ideye revealed he had personally reached out to Osimhen after the incident, expressing his disappointment and advising him to apologize.
He emphasized the importance of professionalism and the responsibility that comes with representing Nigeria.
“I told him I'm disappointed in you but what you have to do is to go back to that social media and apologize to Nigerians and Finidi because no matter how we want to say it he's a legend,” Ideye continued.
“He cleared the road for you like we normally say in Nigeria so you don't disrespect people like that.
“Africa's best player don't behave the way you behave. I spoke to him you don't behave like that. You have 2.7 million people watching you on your (Instagram) Live and you are ranting, talking down on a legend.”
Osimhen is Nigeria's third-highest goalscorer with 21 goals and played a significant role in Nigeria reaching the final of the 2023 AFCON in Côte d'Ivoire.
On the all-time top scoring list, the Napoli striker is one goal behind 1980 AFCON winner Segun Odegbami and needs 16 goals to catch late goal-king Rashidi Yekini.
