Iwobi reveals Osimhen's support after vile abuse on social media

Iwobi reveals Osimhen's support after vile abuse on social media

Super Eagles and Fulham's midfielder, Alex Iwobi has revealed the role played by Victor Osimhen when he was targeted by online trolls after Nigeria lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Ivory Coast in February.

Iwobi has said he was unmoved by the online abuse he suffered after Nigeria lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Ivory Coast in February.

The Fulham midfielder was targeted on social media, leading him to remove all his previous Instagram posts after being singled out for criticism following the 2-1 loss.

But the former Arsenal winger said he did not even see the earlier posts as he focused on getting as far as he could with Nigeria. "The whole competition I didn't see it," he said on his new Project 17 podcast.

The day after, Alex Iwobi found out about the abuse online when Osimhen and other team players wanted issue a collective statement.

"At two o'clock there was a knock on the door, I was like, 'I don't want room service' but I looked through the keyhole and it is Victor Osimhen," Iwobi shared.

I'm half-asleep with my hair everywhere but he said, 'I'm not going to lie to you, they've been talking about you a lot on social media and I want to make sure you're good. They're saying you're apparently going to retire, you're depressed'.

"It is what it is, it is not the first time. The first AFCON where I got sent off it happened, at Arsenal it constantly happened, at Everton when I signed for two years it happened, that is football. I would rather be off social media, I don't want to see that and I don't care.

"They wanted to put out a statement saying cyber bullying is wrong and I said, 'I hear that but we are just going to create a bigger scene' but they said we needed to stand as one.

"They were standing up for me but I said no because the world would think I was down, I'm actually calm, just listening to music."

Iwobi is now back on Instagram and sometimes writes messages on X. He says cyberbullying is bad, but he doesn't let it change his life. "I'm really tired of socials, really and truly," he added.