Posted by Samuel on Mon 12th Jan, 2026 - tori.ng
The Birmingham City defender attempted to shield the ball from Hadj Moussa, which led to a confrontation after the Algerian forward reacted by shoving him.
Super Eagles right-back Bright Osayi-Samuel has spoken about his on-field altercation with Algerian attacker Anis Hadj Moussa during both sides’ AFCON quarter-final clash at the weekend.
Osayi-Samuel found himself in a tense moment with Hadj Moussa in the 68th minute of the match.
The Birmingham City defender attempted to shield the ball from Hadj Moussa, which led to a confrontation after the Algerian forward reacted by shoving him.
In response, Osayi-Samuel confronted the Feyenoord player, who retaliated by pushing him, prompting Senegalese referee Issa Sy to intervene and issue a yellow card to the Algerian.
“I was agitated because he punched my face. He hit my face, you know, and I overreacted,” Osayi-Samuel admitted in his post-match interview.
“In the moment, we were winning 2-0, so really and truly I should not have done it, I should’ve just ignored it, but you know I overreacted. It’s football, you know.”