Oliseh lashes out at Fortuna Sittard saying club suspended him for refusing to break the law

FORMER Super Eagles head coach and skipper Sunday Oliseh has hit out at Dutch second division team Fortuna Sittard for suspending him saying that the club took action against him for refusing to act unlawfully.

Yesterday, Fortuna Sittard suspended  Oliseh over what it claimed were his unacceptable actions, despite the fact that the club is sitting third in the league.  Oliseh, who was appointed by the  Eerste Divisie  side as their manager  on December 27, 2016 came under pressure from the club's  hierarchy after the team  slid down the table after suffering their fourth straight loss.

Oliseh, a former  Ajax and Juventus midfielder, who became a cult hero  at Fortuna Sittard Stadion after  helping  the club escape  relegation last season, was reportedly sacked by the club   last month,  but the Dutch side  denied the reports. Fortunezen, who are desperate to gain  an automatic promotion to the Dutch top-flight  at the end of the season, also  denied they were at loggerheads with the former Nigeria coach.

However, the club announced on its official website yesterday that it had  asked Oliseh to step aside.  Sittard also announced  that they had appointed its youth team’s head coach Claudio Braga as the senior team’s caretaker manager until the  club has found a new trainer.

A club spokesman said: “Several attempts by the club to encourage a change in the coach’s behaviour have unfortunately not worked, resulting in an unworkable situation. The board of Fortuna Sittard emphasises that the decision to suspend Sunday Oliseh is not motivated by the current sporting performance.

“The coach’s unacceptable actions have made cooperation between many people within the organisation impossible, from players to employees. Fortuna Sittard regrets the decision but states that the club interest goes above all else.”

However,   Oliseh fired back on his Twitter account, claiming that the club decided to suspend him because he refused to play ball. He did not specify exactly what it is he was asked to do but claimed it was to do with something unlawful.

Oliseh wrote:  “I confirm, due to my refusal to participate in illegal activities at Fortuna Sittard  and  violate the law, I have been suspended from my duties as coach by the foreign owners of Fortuna. This is unfortunate for the lovely fans, my players and  our hard-fought phenomenal positioning for promotion.”

When Oliseh was the Super Eagles head coach, he also left after falling out with the Nigerian Football Federation officials and some of his senior players. Chief among them was skipper and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who subsequently retired from international football.