By Daily Sports on July 23, 2019

Football is often referred to as the beautiful game. The sheer excitement of watching 22 players all in an interaction with a round object in an oft-feisty, intricate battle for possession and points is something that has captured the minds of Man for ages. “I think football is there to provoke moments of happiness, excitement and positive experiences in people, no matter where they come from, what color skin they have, what religion they are . . .,” former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger once said.

But, as well unfortunately, there are those who make the experience of football an ugly one. Some of these people are those who hurl the most offensive words and make the vilest of threats against football players who sweat to try to bring excitement to the world.

Nigeria's national team player Odion Ighalo is one of those players who have come under serious criticism in the recent past from fans of the Super Eagles and these criticisms often stray beyond common sense to include undue threats to the safety of the player and his family.

Ighalo came under fierce criticism and abuse during the 2018 World Cup in Russia as he fluffed a number of chances to score for Nigeria. Many called him unprintable names and his family members were reportedly issued death threats.

The player carried the pain of that experience in his heart and despite having a personally successful Africa Nations Cup campaign in the recently ended African Nations Cup in Egypt, the harsh criticism of Ighalo never really went away each time he missed a chance to score.

Now, the 30-year-old player has had enough and has decided to call it quits with the national team after emerging AFCON  top scorer with 5 goals and being the only Nigerian to appear in the ‘Team of the tournament’.

That a player of Ighalo’s calibre, someone who netted an impressive 15 goals in 35 games for the Super Eagles is being forced to quit because of the madness of some who take their opinions into the extreme is uniquely distressing.

Words matter and footballers are human beings who are pained by offensive things written and spoken about them. They feel hurt and are not immune to the distress of being the brunt of stupid and offensive jokes and angry words thrown at them simply because they are doing a public job.

People with zero achievements in their own work life- if they have one- and in their own private lives are the loudest of critics. Armchair criticism of players often get my goat when I see the bile-spewing and froth-spraying mouths of fans hurdled in a video center, waiting for who to ‘finish’ with their mouths when a mistake is made.

Make no mistake, there’s nothing wrong with just criticising a player, but when that includes employing abusive words and making threats to the safety of the player and his family, a line is crossed. This line has been crossed severally by many fans and this is unfortunately the lot of the football experience.

I’m sure however that Ighalo leaves the Super Eagles a very much admired player and man by the majority of fans who appreciate the sheer physical strength he brought to the national team’s attack and his goalscoring exploits since making his Super Eagles bow since 2015.

His signing out as Africa’s goals king is an example of leaving when the ovation is loudest and is an appropriate middle finger to those of a stupid persuasion who think a player sets out to miss a chance on purpose.

Source Daily Sports

Posted July 23, 2019

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