Osimhen faces backlash over Lookman outburst

Nigerian football fans have criticised Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen following an angry outburst directed at teammate Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s 4–0 victory over Mozambique in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16, according to TheLeader 

The Galatasaray forward was caught on camera shouting at Lookman in the 63rd minute of the match after the Atalanta winger missed a scoring opportunity, despite Osimhen being in a clear position to receive a pass.

Lookman had already created two chances for Osimhen at that point, with one being a direct assist and the other coming through Akor Adams.

In the footage, Osimhen first pulled away from captain Wilfred Ndidi, then pointed his finger angrily at Lookman before shouting his displeasure at his teammate. At the end, he could be heard saying in pidgin, “No try am again,” which means “do not try that again.”

Osimhen asked to be subbed off subsequently and was then booed off the pitch by the fans as Moses Simon came on for the striker.

The incident sparked widespread criticism on social media platform X, with fans questioning Osimhen’s attitude despite the team’s dominant performance.

Social media influencer Emma Ik Umeh (@emmaikumeh) wrote, “Victor Osimhen had a quarrel with his teammate Lookman. Crazy, but this same Lookman provided him with an assist for his second goal earlier.

“The guy should f**k off with this nonsense attitude. It’s so annoying.”

Godwin Wilson described the behaviour as “Very silly behaviour as usual. Nonsense.”

Oladapo Omolade expressed confusion over the striker’s reaction, saying, “I really don’t understand why the guy is behaving like that… he really needs to calm down on that unnecessary attitude.”

Victor Adeboje simply called it “Very irritating.”

Edwin Uka added, “Can you imagine the attitude he displayed there? Mtcheeeew.”

ID (@oluwatunmilara1) questioned the timing of the outburst, writing, “What’s the meaning of this one? The team is winning and playing well. Why do you want to spoil it with this temper tantrum?”

Bigrated (@the_boy_rated) suggested Osimhen’s pride was the issue, “The guy too proud, he thinks he’s better than everyone in the team.”

Stanley Ogb (@stanogbo97) concluded, “Very unprofessional of Osimhen…He got some attitude problem right there.”

Despite the controversy, Osimhen scored twice in the match while Lookman provided two assists and scored once as Nigeria cruised into the quarter-finals with their fourth consecutive victory at the tournament.

The Super Eagles will face either Algeria or DR Congo in the last eight as they chase their first AFCON title since 2013.