Christantus Uche, Nigerian midfielder, has expressed dissatisfaction with the refereeing standards in La Liga, claiming that officials in Spain have treated him unfairly since his arrival in the league.

In an interview with ESPN Africa published on X on Wednesday, Uche detailed his experiences during his first few matches, saying, “In my first two or three matches in La Liga, I saw it with my own eyes. The referees are so bad.

They are so bad. They kick me, and the referee just tells me to get up. No, it’s a foul, you have to blow the whistle.”

Uche further highlighted the inconsistency in officiating, stating that while other players would receive fouls for similar incidents, he was repeatedly overlooked.

“If they kick another player, the referee blows the whistle immediately, and it’s so painful. It’s so painful, and you cannot do anything because the referee has the power to do whatever he wants,” he lamented.

He also shared his disappointment at being ignored by referees even when fouled right in front of them.

“I get kicked and fall down right in front of the referee, and the referee does nothing. No, it’s not right.”

In addition to his complaints about officiating, Uche mentioned instances of racial abuse from some fans in the stands, describing how they would yell offensive slurs at him.

“Some fans yell abusive slurs at you… (censored) No, it’s not good. It’s not good.”

Striker Victor Osimhen expressed excitement about potentially hearing his name chanted by Galatasaray fans at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

Osimhen’s remarks came upon his arrival at Istanbul Airport early Tuesday morning, where thousands of enthusiastic Galatasaray supporters greeted him with drums and chants.

The 25-year-old Nigerian international is nearing completion of a season-long loan transfer from Napoli to Galatasaray.

Speaking to the fans, the Super Eagles player expressed excitement about the transfer, adding that “I am ready to give my best for them”.

“This is one of the best sets of fans in the world. It feels good to be here, and I am absolutely excited,” he said.

“Of course, I cannot wait to see them in the stadium, and I hear how they scream when I score. I am ready to give my best for them.”

Galatasaray reached an agreement with Napoli to sign Osimhen on loan on Monday.

The Turkish club are expected to pay the full salary of the Osimhen during the loan spell. However, they are not obligated to buy the striker once the season ends.

Before agreeing to the deal, Osimhen negotiated that Napoli scale down his release clause from €130 million to €75 million. The new clause will prove less cumbersome for clubs seeking to acquire the Nigerian’s service in future transfer windows.

The loan deal will end a summer-long transfer saga that had led to Napoli axing Osimhen from its squad for the season.

Although Chelsea and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli initially wanted to sign the striker, the deals fell through.

Osimhen is expected to complete his medical at the club, and an official announcement will follow in the next few hours.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced that Bruno Labbadia’s appointment as Super Eagles head coach has been terminated due to stringent German tax regulations.

As a result, Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen will take charge of the team for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against, Benin Republic (Uyo, September 7), Rwanda (Kigali, September 10).

This marks Eguavoen’s fourth stint as Super Eagles coach, following previous tenures in 2005-2007, 2010, and 2022.

According to NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, the federation cannot offset the concomitant tax percentage on the German coach’s salary.

According to him, the issue of offsetting the coach’s tax was not part of the initial agreement before the announcement of his appointment.

“We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities. It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32% to 40% of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.

“The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up.

“We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that,” President of NFF, Gusau, said on Friday evening.

The NFF had on Tuesday announced its agreement with the German tactician to mount the saddle as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

Labbadia would have become the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles.