Rohr clears the air, says Musa won’t play against Benin nor Lesotho

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has reacted to the controversy surrounding the shock invitation of Ahmed Musa to Nigeria sqaud for this month’s outings.

Fans and other stakeholders of the Nigerian football reacted massively on Tuesday after a 24-man list was released ahead of the games against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

Most of the reactions were a bash towards Rohr for calling up Musa, 28, who had been without a club since his exit from Al-Nassr last year, for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Despite being the captain of the team, fans argued that as a player that had been without a club for so long, Musa could not be allowed in place of some other forwards like Paul Onuachu, who are currently in form at their clubs.

But speaking to BBC Sports Africa on Wednesday, Rohr said there were only 23 players in the competitive list of the Super Eagles, as Musa was only added as a 24th man – not to be fielded.

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“It’s important to clarify that Musa is not in the competitive list of 23 players for our game against Benin and Lesotho,” said Rohr

“We’ve invited Musa as the captain by making him the 24th player, but he is not as part of the 23 on the list that will play our two matches.

“What is important now is to focus on the games ahead and not to be distracted by anything else. We hope for all our players to be fit and travel down safely for the matches,” he added.

The Franco-German coach will be leading the Super Eagles in a battle against Benin on Port Novo on 27 March and against Lesotho in Lagos three days after.

Nigeria, who are currently top of the Group L after four rounds of games, need jusy a point from the two outongs to qualify for the AFCON tournament billed to hold in Cameroon next year.

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