Coach of the bronze winning Dream Team at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Samson Siasia, has lashed out on a report by Nigeria Football Federation’s Integrity Officer Dr Christian Emeruwa, casting doubt on the integrity of a $390,000 donation by Japanese surgeon Dr Katsuya Takasu.
Emeruwa had alluded that he could be associated with match-fixing.
But Siasia insisted that Takasu should instead be appreciated for coming to the rescue of the team.
“This man came to our aid when we were in trouble. I must thank him. He is a wonderful human being,” Siasia was quoted as saying by Vanguard.
“Where were our billionaires, like Aliko Dangote, when they must have heard that the team were in trouble? The report written by the NFF’s Integrity Officer (Dr Christian Emeruwa) on Dr Takasu (which alludes that he could be associated with match-fixing) is nonsense. He should have done a better job of checking him out.”
News24 had reported that Takasu, who donated $390,000 to the Dream Team, is not happy with sports minister Solomon Dalung for doubting his credibility as he plans to visit Nigeria soon.
Dalung was quoted as saying due process must be taken to make sure the credibility of the source of such donation.
