John Fashanu apologises to daughter and announces divorce from wife

Former England footballer John Fashanu, who is Nigerian by descent, has said sorry to his daughter, Amal, for sharing false information about her.

He also shared that he is divorcing his wife, Vivian, because of the situation.

In May, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Fashanu, in a video, denied claims about Amal and said she was not handling his affairs. He also rejected claims that he had health issues from heading footballs and mentioned that he wanted some space from her.

At that time, the English TV presenter said he was happily married to Vivian and accused Amal of trying to defame him.

However, in a video he posted on Facebook on Saturday, Fashanu said Vivian had given him wrong information about his daughter. He also announced that he is divorcing her.

The 63-year-old, who played for Aston Villa, 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.”

Fashanu went on to say he and Amal have a great father-daughter relationship. He said he was the one who invited her to join him in his business because she is his first daughter.

He added that Amal has always been very special to him. “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.

Fashanu also mentioned that life is too short for division and highlighted the importance of family.

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

This newspaper learned that Fashanu’s earlier video came after an interview Amal had with the British tabloid Daily Mail.

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

Amal said her father “has been laid low by a mystery condition” that she thinks could be linked to heading thousands of footballs during his 17-year professional career. She noted that other former professional footballers have also faced similar issues.

She expressed hope that Fashanu, who has lived in Nigeria for the last 13 years, would recover in time to be at her wedding as one of the guests of honour on the biggest day of her life.