Rangers leader launches staunch defence of teammate as politician steps in amid abuse#

After Nigeria’s loss to Ivory Coast in the AFCON Final, Rangers defender Leon Balogun jumped to Alex Iwobi’s defence.

Leon Balogun, a 35-year-old centre back for Rangers, was not included in the Nigerian team that lost 2-1 to their rivals from West Africa this past week in Abidjan.

However, Leon didn’t let that stop him from defending his Super Eagles teammate when Everton winger Alex Iwobi came under intense criticism on social media site X.

Leon Balogun defends Nigeria star Alex Iwobi

The nephew of legendary Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha has been made something of a scapegoat for the country’s failure to lift a fourth AFCON trophy.

As a result of the negative reaction to his performance, Iwobi has deleted all images from his official Instagram account.

The situation has even gotten so bad that the ex-Arsenal attacker has claimed he has come off of social media, with the Nigerian sports minister John Eno clipped reassuring Iwobi of the country’s support.

The renowned midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha’s nephew has been used as a sort of fall guy for Nigeria’s inability to win an AFCON championship.

After receiving unfavourable feedback on his performance, Iwobi removed all of the photos from his official Instagram account.

The former Arsenal attacker has even stated that he has stopped using social media due to the dire circumstances, and Nigerian Sports Minister John Eno has been seen on camera assuring Iwobi of the nation’s support.

Responding to an irate fan who publicly denounced the taunts directed at Alex Iwobi was Leon Balogun.

“For you and the entire country, you expect this same player to give it his all and win!” Balogun stated on X. “And he succeeded! However, you fail to recognise his efforts or the fact that he recently lost a team final. Respectfully, if this is your support, then it is not necessary.

Rangers links to AFCON Final

The big defender, Leon Balogun, would have been devastated to see Nigeria lose to the Ivory Coast in the AFCON Final as he leaps to Alex Iwobi’s defence.

Not least because Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, two former Rangers teammates, participated in the 2-1 Final loss.

During Ibrox training, Mohamed Diomande, the new signing for the Rangers, hilariously showed off his Ivory Coast jersey, further compounding the irony of the team’s defeat.

Leon Balogun posted a photo of the incident to social media, unintentionally confirming the defender’s return from injury.