John Fashanu apologises to daughter, announces divorce from wife

Former England footballer John Fashanu, who is of Nigerian descent, has apologised to his daughter, Amal, for spreading misinformation about her.

He also announced he’s divorcing his wife, Vivian, over the issue.

In May, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Fashanu, in a video, denied claims involving Amal and said she was not managing his affairs. He also dismissed claims that he had suffered health problems from heading footballs and said he wanted some distance from her.

At the time, the English television presenter also said he was happily married to Vivian and accused his daughter of attempting to defame him.

However, the former host of the ‘Gladiators’ TV show, in a video posted on his Facebook page on Saturday, said Vivian misinformed him about his daughter. He also announced that he was divorcing her.

The former Aston Villa centre-forward said: “I’m here today to clarify a few very important things. The video I previously did was wrong. I was misinformed by my wife, Vivian, whom I’m sorry to say I’m divorcing. Now that I’m aware of the truth, I apologise to my daughter, Amal, and legal action will be taken against the liar.

“I allowed myself to be misinformed and influenced. My soon-to-be ex-wife, Vivian, created unnecessary division between my daughter and me, and I deeply regret allowing that to happen. Amal, I want to publicly say I’m sorry for that previous video. It was made at a time when I was listening to someone else’s anger instead of following my own heart.”

Business and relationship

The 63-year-old further said he and Amal share a wonderful father-daughter relationship, adding that he was the one who invited her to become involved in his business because she is his first daughter.

According to him, Amal has always held a special place in his heart.

“The truth is, Amal and I have a wonderful relationship. She will always be my first daughter, and she will always have a place by my side, helping me with my affairs. I couldn’t be prouder of the intelligent, strong and compassionate woman she has become.

“What makes me even prouder is that she never chose to retaliate. As she always says, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’ Those words have stayed with me, and they say everything about the kind of person she is”, said the football legend.

Mr Fashanu added that life was too short for division and stressed the importance of family.

“I’m grateful that love has always been stronger than misunderstanding. Have a wonderful day, everyone. God bless.”

Backstory

This newspaper gathered that Mr Fashanu’s previous video followed an interview Amal gave to the British tabloid Daily Mail.

In the interview, she said she had reconciled with her father days before her wedding to Ghanaian billionaire Mohamad Odaymat.

Amal said the former striker “has been laid low by a mystery condition” which she believes could be linked to heading thousands of footballs during his 17-year professional career.

She said other former professional footballers have also experienced the same problem.

She added that she hoped Mr Fashanu, who has lived in Nigeria for the past 13 years, would make a full recovery in time to attend her wedding as one of the guests of honour on the biggest day of her life.