OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Tuesday 12.45pm.
THE Nigeria Football Association (NFA) have rejected the request of English side Arsenal for striker Nwankwo Kanu to be released to the club for engagements during the Nations Cup which kicks off on Saturday.
“Arsenal are irreponsible,” said NFA chairman Anthony Williams, reacting to the request from the English club Monday.
“There’s just no way we are going to release Kanu for any Arsenal game until after the championship. Once Kanu is in the Eagles’ camp, he stays in camp,” he said.
There has been a running battle between the NFA and Arsenal on the release of the current African footballer of the year for the upcoming Nations Cup which Nigeria is co-hosting with Ghana from this weekend.
Arsenal held on to Kanu for the English FA Cup match against Leicester despite the NFA’s request that the player be released to join his team-mates training in Spain, and then put him on the subs’ bench.
The Gunners confirmed on Monday that they did make a formal application for Kanu’s release for the FA Cup fourth round replay at Leicester on Wednesday and the Premiership trip to Old Trafford the following Monday.
A spokesman said: “The appeal was due to the exceptional circumstances of the team’s current striker problems with Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars both injured and Davor Suker due to be suspended.
Kanu will be missing from their squad until after February 13 if Nigeria reach the final of the African Nations Cup.
He will miss Premiership games against United, Bradford and Liverpool as well as the fifth round of the FA Cup against either Chelsea or Nottingham Forest should Arsenal survive Wednesday’s replay at Filbert Street. — AFP