Former footballer and veteran Gladiator’s host, John Fashanu, has denied claims made about him by his daughter Amal in a recent Daily Mail article, describing her allegations false and removing her from his company.

‎‎In the statement made available to Daily Sun, Fashanu denied a series of claims made by Amal, including that she visited him regularly in Nigeria, managed his personal and professional affairs, and that he had suffered brain injuries from heading footballs during his playing career.

He also denied reports that he had been married five times, insisting he has had only three wives and is currently married to his third wife, Vivian Fashanu.

He said Amal may have counted her own mother, to whom he said he was never married, among his former spouses.

‎Fashanu also revealed that his wife had recently added Amal as a director and shareholder in his company in an effort to bring the family together, a gesture he said his daughter abused.

He also denied a 2023 report in The Sun UK that Amal had been acting as his agent and was later sidelined, denying it as false.

He said: “I want to address some of the claims recently made in the media by my daughter Amal and published in The Daily Mail a few days ago, they are simply false. Contrary to what has been suggested, Amal has not been visiting Nigeria every three months or seeing me every weekend, in fact, she visited me in Nigeria for the first time ever, only two weeks ago to introduce a man she said was her husband. She is not in charge of any of my affairs or properties, neither have I bequeathed any to her.

“I also want to make clear that I have not suffered injuries from heading footballs, nor do I have any medical condition of the kind implied in her recent reports. This is false information, and I am perfectly fine. It is also wholly untrue to suggest that I have had five wives. I have only ever married three women, and I’m currently with my third wife, Vivian Fashanu, whom I love dearly. Amal may be erroneously including her mother as one of my wives, but I was never married to her mother. That said, I also understand that my daughter may still carry emotional hurt from the fact that I did not marry her mother, and I recognise how complex and sensitive such emotions can be for children.

“For this reason, I have always tried, to the best of my ability, to maintain communication with and visit my children whenever possible, Amal has never acted as my agent in relation to Dancing on Ice or any other professional matter, and she has not been managing my personal or professional affairs in any capacity. I have a trusted management team in place with whom my wife gets on very well, and lends much support to.”

Fashanu further said he would be keeping his distance from his daughter, citing repeated violations of his boundaries. He then said he is considering a defamation claim against the Daily Mail over the article and intends to report the matter to the UK press regulator, saying the publication failed to contact him for comment before publishing Amal’s claims.

“While I will always love my daughter, there have unfortunately been repeated situations where personal boundaries have not been respected and for that reason, I believe it is healthiest for me to maintain some distance from her at this time. I don’t know what she stands to gain by behaving in this unadmirable manner.

‎“It has been a very challenging year for me due to legal suits I have had to take against some individuals and institutions, and other litigations in relation to my land, of course, However, I have been pursuing several other fruitful endeavours at the same time. I will be carefully considering a defamation claim against The Daily Mail for this distressing article and reporting this to the UK press regulator too. Nobody contacted me to verify the facts surrounding the claims before publishing them,” he said. (The Sun, excluding headline)

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