Ousted Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr Breaks Silence Over Former NFF President Amaju Pinnick

• Gernot Rohr has suggested that Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup because he was sacked
• The tactician was shown the exit door on the eve of AFCON 2021, and he was not in charge of the final round of the 2022 World Cup qualification
• Rohr has maintained that the decision to fire him was irrational, adding that he is happy Nigeria is now paying him in full

Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has suggested that the ex-president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, was responsible for the failure to qualify for the World Cup.

After almost six years in charge, the Franco-German tactician was shown the exit door barely weeks before the start of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Augustine Eguavoen led the team to the continental showpiece in Cameroon, but they crashed out in Round 16 following a 1-0 loss to Tunisia.

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Despite Pinnick's announcement that Rohr was sacked to avoid a major disaster, Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as Ghana progressed to the global showpiece.

And Rohr, in a recent interview with Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana as per Independent, maintained that the NFF had no justification for sacking him.

He, however, noted that he is happy that the Nigeria football body is now paying him in full. Rohr said:

“Amaju said I was sacked to avoid a disaster (for the Super Eagles). But everybody can see that without me there was a disaster; these are the facts.

“There was no rationale for sacking me as they did because if I had gone to the AFCON and had not won it, or If I had not qualified for the World Cup, they could have ended my contract with­out paying me anything.

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“But they are paying up my contract in full now. I don’t think they studied my contract properly before tak­en their decision

“Amaju Pinnick was the one that created the disaster. The decision to sack me was irrational as we were on tar­get to achieve our objective to go to Qatar.”

Sunday Oliseh eyes Super Eagles job

Sports Brief earlier reported that former Nigeria international Sunday Oliseh has stated that he could still return as the coach of the Super Eagles only if his terms and conditions are met by the NFF chiefs.

NFF chiefs are the ones in charge of all football matters in Nigeria, and they are saddled with the responsibility of hiring coaches for all the national teams.

Oliseh was hired as the Super Eagles coach in 2015 by the former NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, but his reign as the gaffer of the three-time African champions lasted less than a year.