By Samuel Ifetoye
Former Enyimba’s captain, Mfon Udoh, has explained why they staged a protest against the management of the Enyimba Club of Aba.
He stated yesterday that he and his teammates reached an agreement before he took the decision following non-payment of their outstanding salaries and match bonuses.
Udoh recently parted ways with Enyimba FC after he was suspended indefinitely without pay till further notice for gross misconduct and indiscipline in a letter signed by club chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu. But Udoh said the management misconstrued his fight for the rest players.
Speaking on a life radio programme yesterday, Udoh said all that happened between him and Enyimba club was a now history. He stated that he has now moved on with his life after five seasons, representing club at different competitions.
“Even in a house where you have the father and his children, there is bound to be misunderstanding. What really happened was an in-house thing, which was not properly managed and later got out of hand.
“To God be the glory, the issues had been resolved and everyone has moved on. Inasmuch as I do not want people to know what happened between us, I think it is better to allow the sleeping dog lie,” he said.
The former Akwa United, who is the all-time leading scorer in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) with 23 goals scored in 2014, said Enyimba’s management wrongly accused him as the grievances he tabled before them were that of the players.
“As at the time of the crisis, I was the team’s captain. And if anything goes wrong with the players, it is the captain that is always held responsible. Every player will not just come out to say this is what is going on. I was the messenger of the players because I transfer the messages of the players to the management, coaches on whatever the players have decided. And this boils down to the unpaid salaries, match bonuses and allowances.
“As the team’s captain, it was my duty to pass their message to the management. But the anger of the management was now passed down to me as if it was the messenger. I do not see any reason why the management should do that to me since I was only representing the players on their grievances.
“I was the voice of the players, as the team’s captain because I told them the players’ minds and not mine. There are players, who are far older than me, they have families and definitely I cannot be the one controlling them on so many things concerning them.
“I think the management of Enyimba decided to hold me responsible for something that I didn’t do and it was a misunderstanding on their part. On my suspension, they tried to nail me by looking for possible facts and evidences just to make it look as if I did something to justify their action,” he said.