Nigeria’s senior men’s national team has defended Ademola Lookman after his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, publicly criticized him for missing a penalty in Atalanta’s Champions League defeat to Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Lookman’s remarks regarding the controversy were cited by the Super Eagles’ X Twitter, which expressed support for the Nigerian striker by writing, “We are with you, Ade.”
Additionally, the national team’s handle shared images of Lookman’s current 2024–2025 season stats, which include 17 goals and 7 assists. Additionally, recordings of him scoring goals were put on the page with the description, “Ademola The King.”
Lookman came on in the second half and scored, but he missed a penalty a few seconds later. Gasperini called him “one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen.”
However, the Nigerian said in a statement on Wednesday that his coach’s remarks were “deeply disrespectful.”
He added “It saddens me on a day like this to have to write this statement – most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city.
“Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo.
“In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here – the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. This makes what happened last night even more hurtful.
Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result. During the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took responsibility in the moment to do so. Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power which l’ll continue to do.”
–Deeprows Sports
