Thierry Henry has issued an apology after offending Nigerian football fans during Fox’s broadcast of the USA’s opening game of the tournament.
The Arsenal legend is working for, amongst others, Fox during the tournament alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas.
Henry caused a stir with his viral reaction to the USA 94 icon’s scathing assessment of James Corden, but also found himself in hot water.
Henry’s pre-game conversation IShowSpeed didn’t go down well in the footballing hotbeds of Lagos and Abuja when the France World Cup winner reacted to the YouTube sensation’s outfit, which combined a United States national team jersey with Nigerian national team shorts.
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Spotting the unorthodox combination, Ibrahimovic remarked, ‘You have an American shirt, you have Nigerian shorts.’
Henry added, ‘I love Nigeria, but today is US for you.’
Taken aback by the reaction, IShowSpeed asked what was wrong with his outfit only to be told by Henry that mixing and matching kits is often regarded as bad luck in sport.
‘It is great. Nigeria is great,’ Henry said. ‘But that’s you bringing bad luck.
‘You have to wear a full combo. There’s nothing wrong; I love Nigeria, but you have to wear US shorts and US shirt.’
Upon learning he had potentially angered football fans in country where Arsenal enjoy huge support, Henry, who played much of his Gunners career alongside Nigeria football legend Kanu, the 48-year-old took to Instagram to clear up any confusion.
‘I need to clarify something because I don’t think people understand when you say stuff sometimes or when a joke is a joke,’ said on Instagram.
‘So IShowSpeed yesterday had Nigerian shorts and a US top, and I just said to him it is bad luck to break the set.
‘It could have been the shorts of France, Italy or Spain — I would have said the same thing.
‘I was just joking with him, saying it would be bad luck; not that Nigeria is bad luck, but that breaking the set is bad luck.
‘I even said I love Naija, and I do. I have mad respect for Nigeria and the people there.
‘There are a lot of Arsenal fans out there. Nigeria is never bad luck. I was just saying breaking the set is bad luck with any other shorts.’