Nigerian star Iwobi faces cyberbullying after AFCON loss to Ivory Coast
Al Jazeera
The midfielder, a key member of the Nigerian squad, has been scapegoated by social media trolls for years.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast – In the aftermath of Nigeria’s defeat on Sunday at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria midfielder Alexander Iwobi archived all of the posts on his Instagram account, leaving the page blank.
The action was in response to a barrage of hate speech on his social media accounts, as disappointed Nigeria supporters sought an outlet for outrage following the Super Eagles’ 1-2 loss to hosts Ivory Coast in Sunday’s final.
The Fulham midfielder started six of seven matches in the tournament and was instrumental to Nigeria’s unexpected run to the final despite playing a more withdrawn role than is natural to him.
He was similarly targeted online following his sending-off in the defeat to Tunisia that caused Nigeria’s round-of-16 exit in the 2021 edition of the tournament. Then, as now, he was forced to archive his social media posts; this time, however, there are reports that he may be set to retire from international football.
Iwobi, who has won more than 70 caps for Nigeria since making his debut in 2015, is a nephew to legendary Nigeria midfielder Augustine “Jay-Jay” Okocha, widely regarded as one of the best dribblers in world football.
