Sunday Oliseh
Nigerian football legend Sunday Oliseh has opened up on the worst discrimination moment he suffered in his career both as a player and as a manager in Europe.
Oliseh played for 12 years in Europe before retiring with Genk in Belgium after which he went into coaching. He coached the Super Eagles between 2015 and 2016 when he resigned.
He was appointed the manager of Dutch club Fortuna Sittard in 2017 and left in 2018. Speaking during an Instagram Live Chat with Eagles and Ajax teammate Tijani Babangida, he said he experienced the worst discrimination at the club.
“I was very shocked at the kind of treatment I got when I was coaching Fortuna Sittard,” he said. “I suffered the worst discrimination of my career both as a player and as a coach.
“They didn’t even clean my office, it was difficult to clean a black man’s office. All through my time there, I cleaned my office myself.”
Oliseh and Babangida were teammates at Ajax between 1997 and 1999 before Oliseh left for Juventus and the two expressed fondness for the good treatment they received at Ajax.
“The discrimination I faced made me sit and think about the big difference about the club and Ajax,” he said. “At Ajax we were treated like children of the house, we were loved.
“But the fans at Fortuna were great, some of the players were great. But I’ve never had so much discrimination from the management, from a club owner and from the board like that.”
“Ajax has a culture, each time you wear the identity of Ajax, you have to bring yourself a big personality,” Babangida added,”Babangida added.
Oliseh has been away from management since leaving Fortuna Sittard in 2018. He won 63 caps for the national team and scored four goals.
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