Former Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, has sensationally revealed why he could not wear the green and white colours of Nigeria when he was called upon to play for the Green Eagles. Fashanu revealed this much to the UK FourFourTwo magazine in a recent interview. According to him, it was difficult for him to adapt to African football and that really affected his ambition greatly.

“It wasn't that it put me off, but the football was different. Wimbledon were blatantly playing kick and rush. All of a sudden, out in Africa, they were giving me the football at my feet. My game was all about aggression, the British Bulldog. When I got to Africa, all of a sudden people were doing skills I'd never even seen. I thought, why should I go to Nigeria and try to play in a way I've never played before?”

Were you a party to any madness in your time at Millwall (1984-86)?
I came down to Millwall with Lincoln City once and bashed the hell out of their defence, so after the match, I had to get a police escort to take me from the changing rooms to the coach. The Millwall fans were shouting, “Nigger, black naughty person, we'll kill you”, and throwing cups of urine at me. I remember seeing the hate and the venom in their faces as we drove off. Then I signed for them shortly afterwards and the fans loved me. I think they respected me because I played football the way some of them lived their lives. It was the Millwall fans who christened me 'Fash The Bash'.

How did you feel when you fell off that wall during an interview on Grandstand?
Even now, I've got a chipped bone in my elbow. I used to think it was from elbowing people, but I realised I did it falling off that wall. On my left and right, I could see the wall, but what I didn't know was that five bricks were missing behind me, so when I stepped back, there was no wall to put my foot on so I got my leg trapped and over I went. It was a long way down, but I went into a roll so the only thing I really bruised was my ego. At the time it wasn't very funny, because I was shocked and embarrassed. There I was, Wimbledon hard man, on the floor. But in retrospect, it was very funny because it was spontaneous. It brought me down to earth. They've shown it a million times on TV, but I never got bored of seeing it.

Did you really kick the crap out of Lawrie Sanchez in a training ground incident?
I don't like Sanch and he doesn't like me. Hate is a strong word, but we tend to disagree. Anyway, Sanch and I had a disagreement in training. I told the boys, “I'm taking training this morning - everybody start jogging.” Sanch saw it in his wisdom not to comply and when I pointed my finger at him he went to slap me. Mistake, Sanch. So I said, “Listen, this has been going on too long. We're two men, let's sort it out; let's take a walk. Lads, you carry on jogging.” So we walked, and for Sanch, this was the walk of death because we were walking round the back of the bushes and I was gonna pummel him. I was thinking, what style should I use on him? Sanch was thinking, am I gonna get battered?

Or maybe he was thinking, I'm gonna batter Fash. It was like something out of a film: two people who don't like each other, and now they're going to fight. Anyway, Sanch gave me a shot and, give him credit, it wasn't a bad shot. But I thought, don't hit Sanch, don't mark his face, and my mind went back to when Muhammed Ali fought against the martial artist in New York, and the martial artist just kicked the back of his legs until it broke the tissues in his calves and he submitted. So I thought I'd teach Sanch a lesson and gave a sweep of the legs, but Sanch has calves like most people have thighs and he didn't move. So I gave him another couple, but Sanch came back at me. So I thought, I'm gonna take this guy out, and I hit him with one of the best shots I'd been training with - BAM! Take that, Sanch! - right in the solar plexus, a shot that would supposedly knock a horse down. And still he stood there. Then Terry Burton came over to break us up.

Why did things not work out for you at Aston Villa?
When I started playing football, I believed it would never end. And one day I woke up, I sat on the edge of my bed and I thought, I don't want to do this anymore, I've had enough. Two weeks later, we were playing Manchester United at Old Trafford. I remember it very clearly. It was a corner and Paul Ince was marking me. I thought, why the hell is Incey marking? What an insult. So I said to the big man, “Pallister, get yourself over here and mark me, son.” But Incey's still pushing me and this time he grabs my shirt and my chest, and for the first time it actually hurts, so I knock Incey's hand off and he knocks me back. As the ball comes across, Incey goes up and catches me with his elbow. And I think, Jesus, that hurt - I'm getting older, these boys are starting to hurt me.

Then I had a flashback to when I was playing for Millwall against Southampton at The Dell. I did the same thing to Joe Jordan that Incey did to me because I knew I would carve a reputation for myself. The ball came in and I went WALLOP! BOSH! I headed the ball and Joe ended up on the floor. That's how I got my reputation. After that, I only had to blow on a player and he'd be scared. This was the same situation in reverse and I'm thinking, I don't fancy this much. Anyway, just after that, the ball bounced away from a corner and Incey gave Dwight Yorke eight studs down his shin. So I went over to give Incey some to deal with him and he just pushed me away.

The referee says “drop ball” and it's me and Incey. So we went in - BOOM! - and the ball ricochets up the pitch. As I'm running after it, I see little Giggsy coming. I think, okay, Giggsy, I'm gonna put you in row 15. You boys aren't scared anymore, huh? Let's see. But as I went running in to tackle, Giggsy put his foot up to protect himself and it hit my knee and snapped the ligaments. I remember Giggsy's face - he didn't look hurt, just shocked. He couldn't believe he was still alive! And I remember Incey coming over from about 50 yards away saying, “I'm gonna do ya, Fash” and then seeing my face. Then he said, “Fash is not playing,” because I never used to go down. “Go and see the physio.” And that was that.

Who was the sexiest Gladiator?
Lightning or Vogue. When I reminisce about old times, I think, how the bloody hell did I get that job for seven years? What a job! These were the most beautiful women, basically doing gymnastics - absolutely fantastic! They were so sexy and so nice, and Ulrika wasn't bad either.

Did you put in any 'special overtime' with Ulrika?
Ully's a great girl. I just wish she'd find Mr Right. She's looking for a nice, genuine man who can look after her. I'll put my hand up: I was the naughty person who introduced her to Stan Collymore. I was going out of town, so I rang up Yorkie, Ugo and Bozzie and said, “Listen guys, there's a big Gladiators party and the girls want some good-looking guys to go down and have a good time.” Of course, they took big Stan along and the rest is history.

What was your relationship really like with your late brother, Justin?
I had a great relationship with my brother. It would be lovely if we could turn the clock back, but we can't, and what happened happened. If you believe there is a God, we should celebrate, because he's going to heaven before us and heaven is a better place, so I've no remorse. I'm sad, because he was my brother and I miss him, but I'm happy, because he's in heaven. The reasons were a bit obscure - the wrong reasons - but he's there before me and I hope he's saved me a place. In life, you don't choose your family and we were different. Justin had instant success. By the age of 17, he was the first black million-pound footballer. That's a lot of stress. I remember being in a penthouse in Norwich when all of these managers were calling, promising to make him a millionaire. I was the sucker taking all the calls, while he was hiding in the cupboard. The advantage I had was I watched and listened to everything that was going on; he didn't. Not that Justin was reckless - just very impulsive, very spontaneous, so our thinking was very different.

What affect did being implicated in a match-fixing scandal have on your life?
Every footballer has a period where they think they're untouchable. Your face becomes a passport and I think it was a lesson. It showed me how many people have been convicted of crimes they haven't committed. I understand that even more now, when I visit prisons up and down the country, doing talks. One minute you're walking down the street, the next you're in prison. It's the same with these matrimonial cases. You've been married to your wife for 10 years, you come home and find her in bed with another guy. You've lost it completely and picked up a mallet, gone to swing it, unfortunately hit the wife and, next thing you know, you're in prison. It's strengthened me a lot and made me appreciate life, but it damaged my bank balance - £1million in legal fees. But it wasn't about money, it was about being able to get on with your life, knowing you've been through the mill and come out clean.

Your view on Wimbledon's move to Milton Keynes?
If you cut me in the middle, you'll see Wimbledon FC tattooed there. Nobody wants to move. Why should Wimbledon be in Milton Keynes, for heaven's sake? At the same time, I don't want Wimbledon to die and they just can't sustain what they're doing at Selhurst Park on crowds of two or three thousand a week. Financially, it's a nightmare. Charles Koppel's not an enemy of Wimbledon, he's actually a very nice guy. His dream was to build a new stadium in Wimbledon, but they've tried and they can't do that, so he said, “Okay, I want to keep Wimbledon going.

I don't want to go into administration.” He knows it's going to be hard to regenerate a football club in a new area, he knows it's going to be unpopular, but the positives outweigh the negatives. Okay, he's going to lose 2,000 fans, but he'll gain 6,000 just from the surrounding area. It's nobody's fault that this has happened, but people are thinking with their hearts. Somebody needs to think with his head. But I applaud what AFC Wimbledon have done and I hope they can sustain the crowds they've started off with. Tell them I'll come down and have a game for them.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/sept/23/sportsbreak-23-09-2010-001.htm

After your lame a$$ has been dumped by the 3 lions, now u'r here tellin me 'Tales by moonlight' abi?

Me sef, im not FIT in readin your GIBBERISH !!!

Dis guy
Is he really a Nigerian?The way he was having problems pronouncing even Yoruba names on "deal or no deal" that he anchored makes me cringe.

ifyalways:

Dis guy
Is he really a Nigerian?The way he was having problems pronouncing even Yoruba names on "deal or no deal" that he anchored makes me cringe.

Knowing how to pronounce names is not the qualification of nationality. If you knew how and where he was raised, you might appreciate it a bit better.

biggest boy

eh eh eh,
mba nu.

fash, just fashi this 'fit into' stuff
i like you, but don't let me remember USA '94 when u and ur group were called to come and assist us and u said u
preferred to play 4 England.

Fash, abeg, don't let me 'refresh' plsssssssssssss.

Oh! not again.
this character has come again.
Fash with his stories.
I have not seen a bigger name dropper.
You never know when he is telling the truth and when he is dropping names.
He is now in Nigeria because there is money to be made.
He is a hustler and will lick any backside in the corridors of power.
Imagine the shameless fellow calling himself 'Ambassador of Sports'?
He should keep his stories for Andy Uba his friend, he has found his level.

I really hate this guy. Am i the only one?

hmmm, really like this guy, great prsonality and a huge star, whatever the guy was, or did in the past was in the past. he has learnt his lessons and decided to come home, theres no place like home they say. but his brother justin, isnt he the gay/paedophile who hung himself as in suicide?

Dream chaser:

hmmm, really like this guy, great prsonality and a huge star, whatever the guy was, or did in the past was in the past. he has learnt his lessons and decided to come home, theres no place like home they say. but his brother justin, isnt he the gay/paedophile who hung himself as in suicide?

your comment sounds homophobic.what has Justin got to do with the issue at hand?
There is no place like home because there is money to be made.
He is a horrible name dropper and a hustler without principles.

wales:

Former Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, has sensationally revealed why he could not wear the green and white colours of Nigeria when he was called upon to play for the Green Eagles. Fashanu revealed this much to the UK FourFourTwo magazine in a recent interview. According to him, it was difficult for him to adapt to African football and that really affected his ambition greatly.

“It wasn't that it put me off, but the football was different. Wimbledon were blatantly playing kick and rush. All of a sudden, out in Africa, they were giving me the football at my feet. My game was all about aggression, the British Bulldog. When I got to Africa, all of a sudden people were doing skills I'd never even seen. I thought, why should I go to Nigeria and try to play in a way I've never played before?”

Just like the English National Team.

this guy is one of the fakest assholes you will ever come across in life, completely and utterly full of sh.it, a compulsive liar and has no conscience, I dont know whether its to do with the way he was brought up but he is very cold and calculating.   Look at the bullshit he is spouting about his brother Justin,  he was not on speaking terms with his brother until the poor guy committed suicide.  Prior to that period Fashanu made a very nasty statement about the fact that he was gay and therefore wanted nothign to do with him. It was only after Justin's death that whatever is left of his conscience kicked in.

He will do anything for money, he uses and dumps people and has done that all throughout his life - is it the matchfixing, or is it the fake charities that he runs on behalf of african orphans where it was discovered that all the money that he was collecting was going straight into his bank account.

This guy is to be avoided at all costs.

Also he is very sometimeish about being a nigerian - his mantra is "I am a nigerian only when it suits me or only where money is to be made" -

All that crap  he told sun news reporters is a pack of lies.

cap28:

this guy is one of the fakest assholes you will ever come across in life, completely and utterly full of sh.it, a compulsive liar and has no conscience, I dont know whether its to do with the way he was brought up but he is very cold and calculating.   Look at the bullshit he is spouting about his brother Justin,  he was not on speaking terms with his brother until the poor guy committed suicide.  Prior to that period Fashanu made a very nasty statement about the fact that he was gay and therefore wanted nothign to do with him. It was only after Justin's death that whatever is left of his conscience kicked in.

He will do anything for money, he uses and dumps people and has done that all throughout his life - is it the matchfixing, or is it the fake charities that he runs on behalf of african orphans where it was discovered that all the money that he was collecting was going straight into his bank account.

This guy is to be avoided at all costs.

Also he is very sometimeish about being a nigerian - his mantra is "I am a nigerian only when it suits me or only where money is to be made" -

All that crap  he told sun news reporters is a pack of lies.

I owe you one of whatever your favourite drink is.

I bet Nigerians just hate on this they cant understand or just a pull him down syndrome going on here !

Tell me we havent done similar things or worst than what we accusing this guy o"f doing in our lives? we all come here behaving we perfects humans and we never make mistakes, just as jesus said" let the first man cast the stone".

I dont know john fashanu and i never judged him but from little i know about him, there is no one who will come from a different society like england and fit into Nigeria the way he did, he is not in Nigeria to take your jobs as u all fear,he had one of the best jobs here in england working on gladiators.

So yall shud give it a rest and stop kicking your heads as if he is the one fucking up Nigerian economy, i dont think Obasanjo,Abacha and Banbangida gets the type of hates you lots are giving out on here,

deji.ariyo:

I bet Nigerians just hate on this they cant understand or just a pull him down syndrome going on here !

Tell me we havent done similar things or worst than what we accusing this guy o"f doing in our lives? we all come here behaving we perfects humans and we never make mistakes, just as jesus said" let the first man cast the stone".

I dont know john fashanu and i never judged him but from little i know about him, there is no one who will come from a different society like england and fit into Nigeria the way he did, he is not in Nigeria to take your jobs as u all fear,he had one of the best jobs here in england working on gladiators.

So yall shud give it a rest and stop kicking your heads as if he is the one bleeping up Nigerian economy, i dont think Obasanjo,Abacha and Banbangida gets the type of hates you lots are giving out on here,

Ba reasonable, ba sence, wetin you yan, NON-SENSE !!!

furacao:

Knowing how to pronounce names is not the qualification of nationality. If you knew how and where he was raised, you might appreciate it a bit better.

Yeah.He was born n bred in the moon.
Anchoring a Nigerian programme,on a Nigerian tv n in Nigeria but not able to pronounce T-I-T-I is so cool.

Puhleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Who gives a monkey's backside about this original fake i.diot?

wales:



and my mind went back to when Muhammed Ali fought against the martial artist in New York, and the martial artist just kicked the back of his legs until it broke the tissues in his calves and he submitted.

lol, when was this?

I don't really know him, but i've been seeing him on TV in recent times. I think he's a great football analyst, and I think he's got a great brain (i connect with what he says atleast). But I don't want to think a greater part of the hate most of the posters spill here, is at the fact that fash is homophobic (from what u guys have said),  great decision. fash shouldn't have gone to his brother and hugged him- "Good thing you're gay I love You" - Gay people shouldn't be supported! there's nothing right about being gay!
Second, If the hate is from the 'fact' (i don't know that) that he wasn't on talking terms with his brother before his death and he (fash) is now sounding different after his death,  my opinion: It's natural. you expect nice words from someone about their dead sibling/friend/relation (most of the time).
I really can't talk more on fash. like Sean Penn talking about Wyclef on CNN i'll say: I don't know the Man.

mbulela:

I owe you one of whatever your favourite drink is.

my pleasure bro - how about a chilled glass of palm wine?

PhysicsQED:

lol, when was this?

exactly!!! it never happened this guy is a compulsive liar, he just makes up stories in order to make himself look important, he can't get work in britain as he has  a reputation for being a liar and scammer.  Thats why he is in nigeria pretending as if he likes the people and the country, believe me, its all a pretense to get as much as he can from unwitting nigerians.

cap28:

exactly!!! it never happened this guy is a compulsive liar, he just makes up stories in order to make himself look important, he can't get work in britain [/b]as he has  a reputation for being a [b]liar and scammer.  Thats why he is in nigeria pretending as if he likes the people and the country, believe me, its all a pretense to get as much as he can from unwitting nigerians.

I bet we know who the real liar is in here.UK is not nigeria that pple dont know things or things are kept secret, just type john fashanu into google, its will tell us everything we need to know about him, i just did that and i see nothing.

The only thing he was involved in england was a match fixing scandal and he was never convicted for that, remember he got the job on gladiator after that and he was on come dine with me on channel 4.

IBB is trying 2 re-invent himself n d past n now dis liar is trying his hand at it.
They think Nigerians r fool's. I dislike liars.

deji.ariyo:

I bet we know who the real liar is in here.UK is not nigeria that pple dont know things or things are kept secret, just type john fashanu into google, its will tell us everything we need to know about him, i just did that and i see nothing.

The only thing he was involved in england was a match fixing scandal and he was never convicted for that, remember he got the job on gladiator after that and he was on come dine with me on channel 4.

You make me laugh!!!

Here is a man who makes a living from duping people - he tried it here but didnt get far, yes he was acquitted on the match fixing charges, but that does not mean that he wasnt guilty, if you get yourself a good lawyer you can literally get away with murder - ask OJ Simpson.

Look at his track record and that should tell you who he is:

He has moved his base to nigeria because he knows that nigeria is a lawless place where the rule of law is not respected -

last year he appropriated a N25 million contribution from nigerian billionaire Dangote under the pretext that the money was to be used as a contribution for production costs for a football reality show instead he diverted it into his personal bank account for his own personal use.

what about his tyre franchise scam in which he collected money from loads of people under the pretext of giving them a right to open up their own franchises in nigeria, only for those people to find out that he had made similar promises to several other nigerians and then made off with their money.

He got the job on gladiators around the same time that he was accused of match fixing and once the details came out his contract was not renewed, since then he has never done anything substantial on british tv, if you think coming out on come dine with me is something to write home about you need your head examined.

He even used his own ex wife - daughter of a former ivory coast ambassador by draining all of her money to pay for his huge £650,000 court costs in the match fixing case which resulted in her bankruptcy. As so0n as he discovered that she was no longer of any use to him, he deserted her along with his 3 children.

The truth is that since his match fixing scandal no reputable business in the west will touch him with a ten foot barge pole hence his move to nigeria where you can cheat, scam and deceive people to your hearts content,  The average nigerian has no moral compass thats why there are people like you on here defending this crook.

I wonder why you complain about the likes of IBB and Obasanjo who milk nigeria dry when you are so dumb taht you can't see when you are being taken advantage of.

cap28:

You make me laugh!!!

Here is a man who makes a living from duping people - he tried it here but didnt get far, yes he was acquitted on the match fixing charges, but that does not mean that he wasnt guilty, if you get yourself a good lawyer you can literally get away with murder - ask OJ Simpson.

Look at his track record and that should tell you who he is:

He has moved his base to nigeria because he knows that nigeria is a lawless place where the rule of law is not respected -

last year he appropriated a N25 million contribution from nigerian billionaire Dangote under the pretext that the money was to be used as a contribution for production costs for a football reality show instead he diverted it into his personal bank account for his own personal use.

what about his tyre franchise scam in which he collected money from loads of people under the pretext of giving them a right to open up their own franchises in nigeria, only for those people to find out that he had made similar promises to several other nigerians and then made off with their money.

He got the job on gladiators around the same time that he was accused of match fixing and once the details came out his contract was not renewed, since then he has never done anything substantial on british tv, if you think coming out on come dine with me is something to write home about you need your head examined.

He even used his own ex wife - daughter of a former ivory coast ambassador by draining all of her money to pay for his huge £650,000 court costs in the match fixing case which resulted in her bankruptcy. As so0n as he discovered that she was no longer of any use to him, he deserted her along with his 3 children.

The truth is that since his match fixing scandal no reputable business in the west will touch him with a ten foot barge pole hence his move to nigeria where you can cheat, scam and deceive people to your hearts content,  The average nigerian has no moral compass thats why there are people like you on here defending this crook.

I wonder why you complain about the likes of IBB and Obasanjo who milk nigeria dry when you are so dumb taht you can't see when you are being taken advantage of.

How i wish you can say that to me in real person, yall take advantage of internet to spew gibberish and try to be an internet gangster, am not gonna abuse or diss, i am grown above that, but i wish you gudluck in continuing to bring someone else down, even M.K.O Abiola was accused of being a fraud so am not really suprised about Nigerians,

deji.ariyo:


How i wish you can say that to me in real person, yall take advantage of internet to spew gibberish and try to be an internet gangster, am not gonna abuse or diss, i am grown above that, but i wish you gudluck in continuing to bring someone else down, even M.K.O Abiola was accused of being a fraud so am not really suprised about Nigerians,

ooh im shaking in my boots at the thought of what you would do to me if i said that to you in person - you are fortunate that "dumb" is the only adjective that i used to describe you - numbskull!!!