Former Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh has been sacked as head coach of Netherlands’ second tier side Fortuna Sittard for what the club calls “inadmissible actions”.
'Several attempts by the club to encourage a change in the coach's behaviour have unfortunately not worked, resulting in an unworkable situation,' the team said in a statement.
“The board of Fortuna Sittard emphasizes that the decision to disband Sunday Oliseh is not motivated by the current sporting performance. Because of his inadmissible actions, the coach has made the cooperation with many people within the organization impossible.
“From players to employees. Fortuna Sittard regrets the decision, but states that the club interest goes above all else.”
Portuguese-born Claudio Braga will take over as interim coach.
“Fortuna Sittard has found a temporary replacement for Claudio Braga for the on Sunday Oliseh. Until the Sittard club has found a new trainer, Braga will play the double role of head coach and Head of Youth Training,” stated the club.
Shortly after the announcement was made, Oliseh told his own side of the story, clarifying that he was suspended, rather than sacked.
“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,” Oliseh wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Unfortunate for the lovely fans, my players and our hard fought phenomenal positioning for Promotion.”
The 43-year-old Nigerian, however, didn’t revealed the illegal activities he refused to participate in.
Oliseh was appointed as Fortuna manager in December 2016. Since joining, he led the club from the brink to relegation to the playoffs for top-flight promotion this season.
Fortuna is currently third on the league table with 44 points, five behind leaders NEC Nijmejen.
In 2015, Oliseh was appointed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) as the National team coach.
With the Super Eagles, he achieved an impressive statistic of 14 games (two defeats), 19 goals scored and only six conceded, qualifying the team to the CHAN tournament in Rwanda and to the Group phase of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers.
In February 2016, he resigned as Nigeria’s national coach citing contract violations, lack of support, unpaid wages and benefits to his players, assistants and himself as the motive.
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