Ikpeba who admitted being part of the NFF, refused to blame Eguavoen for the country’s failure, stating the gaffer warned against Gernot Rohr’s sack
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former African footballer of the year and ex-Monaco striker, Victor Ikpeba has disclosed that Super Eagles former coach, Augustine Eguavoen warned Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) against sacking Gernot Rohr.
He made this known while discussing on Monday Night Football, where he stressed the NFF rather than Eguavoen should bear responsibility for Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Eguavoen replaced Rohr in December ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022, after the latter lost at home against the Central African Republic and drew against Cape Verde in CAF’s group stages qualifier for the World Cup.
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Ikpeba, who admitted being part of the NFF, refused to blame Eguavoen for the country’s failure, stating that the Super Eagles gaffer warned against the sack of his predecessor.
He also stated that the NFF should shoulder the responsibility for Nigerias’ absence at the World Cup.
According to him, “Eguavoen was not in support of the decision to sack Rohr.
Curiously, Eguavoen, who admitted that NFF provided all he needed to prosecute the playoffs, agreed with Ikpeba that he counselled against sacking Rohr.
“Yes, I complained about the timing as it was too close to the Africa Cup of Nations,” Eguavoen said.