Coronavirus: How I Was Threatened by Trabzonspor for Speaking up in Turkey –Mikel

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March 19, 2020

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John Mikel Obi has revealed Trabzonspor president asked him to delete his Instagram post criticizing Turkish football authorities, before his contract was terminated.

The 32-year-old in an interview with The Athletic, also made it clear he has no plans to return to the club.

Last week, Mikel Obi publicly questioned why football was still being played in Turkey, as the COVID-19 continues to spread around Europe.

The Nigerian midfielder had since had his contract at the club cancelled.

“They [the club] were really upset about the whole thing.

“I was told to meet with the president in his office one-on-one. He asked me to take [the post] down. I told him I wasn’t going to do that.

“It’s my opinion. This is how I feel. We live in a free world. I have freedom of speech. I can express my opinion,” Mikel Obi said.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) finally called off league fixtures on Thursday.

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Mikel Obi

'Dotun Akintomide

'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

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