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Football agent John Shittu has rubbished claims by former Nigeria head coach Samson Siasia that he attempted to offer a bribe to secure John Mikel Obi’s inclusion in the squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Footynaija.com reports.
Siasia, in a recent appearance on Elegbete TV, alleged that Shittu offered him €50,000 (around ₦91 million) in exchange for Mikel’s place in the team.
“Going to the Olympics, Mikel wants to come and play. His agent said he would give me €50,000 so Mikel should play,” Siasia stated. “I said it’s not about €50,000. He didn’t play the qualifiers, so I will take out someone that qualified us and bring you in? It won’t happen. That’s why Mikel didn’t go.”
Siasia insisted Mikel’s absence during qualifiers was the sticking point. “Mikel wasn’t a starter at Chelsea then, he was on the bench,” he said. “I told him we only had one game against Ghana to play – please come and help us. But Mikel refused to come, saying he was playing in Chelsea.”
Responding through The Cable, Shittu denied the allegations outright, revealing that Siasia had already reached out to apologise for making the claim.
“I am one of the most respected agents in the game,” said Shittu. “I don’t deal with damaged people. As far as I am concerned, it’s a forgotten issue.”
Despite the controversy, Nigeria went on to win silver in Beijing without Mikel. In 2019, Siasia was himself found guilty by FIFA of agreeing to receive bribes to fix matches and was banned for life — a sanction later reduced to five years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Neither Mikel nor the NFF has officially responded to the revived claim.
