Former Super Eagles midfielder, Garba Lawal has debunked the claim of his former teammate, Taribo West that players brought in women and broke camp rules on the eve of their crunch 1998 FIFA World Cup round of 16 match against Denmark.
In a recent interview, Taribo had alleged that some of the players were with female companions before the game, which Nigeria lost 4-1 to Denmark and was eliminated from the competition. However, Lawal who was also a member of the squad said it was impossible for anyone to sneak in outsiders into the players’ room without accreditation.
“I don’t know what West is talking about because, at the World Cup everyone has their rooms and before you bring in anyone inside the room is very difficult because you must have an accreditation without it, it is impossible, the security guards will never accept that,” Lawal told footballlive. Lawal also revealed that, the security protocol at the World Cup was always water tight security and he would know because he often visited his teammates in their rooms.
“The situation to enter into the players room if you don’t have business there is always very critical and massive.
“I know this for a fact because I was always in the rooms of late Rashidi Yekini, Tijani Babangida and Daniel Amokachi, so I don’t know what Taribo West is talking about,” he said.