Nigeria has been cited in an example where a player refused to take his coach’s directive for a substitution during a match, but it was the case of an opposing player against the Super Eagles at the 2018 World Cup.
Sports247.ng reports that, as controversy continues spreading over the refusal by Chelsea goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga to be substituted in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, facts revealed that Croatia striker, Nikola Kalinic refused to go on against the Eagles.
Though his team eventually won the game 2-0, Kalinic was sent home from their base camp in Russia, after the coach, Zlatko Dalic said the player refused to go on as a sub in their first group match against Nigeria.
Dalic said Kalinic claimed he was not fit to play, but that was not good enough for the manager, who pointed to a string of similar incidents in the past. That marked the beginning of the end of Kalinic, as the 31-year-old star, who has 41 Croatia caps, has not played for his country since.
However, the most dramatic similarity to Kepa’s saga came in 2017, when another goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski, at Swansea City, was hurt late in their match against Tottenham, colliding with Vincent Janssen in the 81st minute.
The Swans’ manager Paul Clement told reserve Kristoffer Nordfeldt to get ready to go on, but Fabianski insisted he was fine and play resumed, yet continued to hold his rib, even as he made a fine save to deny Dele Alli.
Clement made the decision to replace Fabianski in the 86th minute, but the keeper again refused and, after continued remonstrations, the coach turned to the fourth official to cancel the change.
Dramatically, it was also Jon Moss, the same ref that was in charge of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, that was also in charge then.
He waved play on, and Fabianski let in three goals in the final minutes of an extraordinary match, turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 defeat for his side.
At the end other end of the pitch, this time at Etihad Stadium, Roberto Mancini accused Carlos Tevez of refusing to go on as a substitute for Manchester City in their UEFA Champions League match against Bayern Munich in September 2011.
However, Tevez denied ignoring his manager’s instructions, blaming the incident on a misunderstanding.
Nevertheless, it would be the start of a lengthy stand-off between them, which saw Tevez banished from the club for five months before returning to play a dramatic role in them securing the English Premier League title.
Back to goalkeepers, but from a sympathetic point this time, Les Sealey’s actions in the 1991 Rumbelow’s Cup final earned praise. The Manchester United keeper had a knee cut with 12 minutes remaining, but knew there was no reserve keeper on the bench.
So, he refused to have an outfield player replace him in goal and limped through remainder of the match. He conceded no further goals, but John Sheridan’s 37th minute strike was enough for Sheffield Wednesday to lift the Cup with a 1-0 victory against The Red Devils.
