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Nelly Yoa stands by football claim despite controversy

NELLY Yoa is being picked apart on claims he was a professional footballer and a Sudanese leader after airing his controversial gang opinions.

Ben Graham
4 min read
January 9, 2018 - 7:05PM
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NELLY Yoa has been at the heart of media storm ever since he waded into the Sudanese “street gang” debate with a controversial opinion piece.

But the Sudanese-born Australian is standing by his claims that he is an ambassador for American Express, a former hopeful for English Premier League giants Chelsea, a Nike-sponsored sportsman and a leading mentor for Sudanese youth in Melbourne.

Despite intense scrutiny of the claims, Yoa told news.com.au media reports examining them were “inaccurate” — appearing to stand by his story.

Suspicions about Yoa’s sporting claims were raised when the 2011 machete-attack victim posted a picture of himself on Twitter at Chelsea’s famous Stamford Bridge stadium in London in June 2014.

Sceptics have pointed out the photos — in which he is sitting alone in the Chelsea dugout and the press conference room — could have easily come from a tour of the club’s home stadium, which is a popular tourist attraction.

According to his LinkedIn page, Yoa played for Chelsea from February 2013 to August 2013, a year after he posted the “signing” picture on Twitter. His Facebook page says he played with Chelsea in 2012.

“Life@Stamford Bridge is Marvelous.#AboutToPutPenToPaper# @chelseafc

#Excited#” he wrote on Twitter — seemingly on the verge of signing a contract in 2014.

Yoa went on to post about “learning from the best in the world” along with a photo of prolific soccer coach José Mourinho and pictures of Cheslea’s locker room.

However, AAP sports reporter Vince Rugari tweeted today: “Chelsea has no record of Nelly Yoa ever trialling there.”

Yoa told news.com.au today that Chelsea, and another prominent English club QPR — which he claims to have trialled for — have not released an official statement to confirm or deny his claims.
“Other media outlets are inaccurate yet again,” he said.

Other former tweets on Yoa’s account appear to show him receiving boots from Nike and “catching up” with his “homies” Usain Bolt and John Steffensen.

However, Yoa was thrust into the national media spotlight after his editorial for Fairfax Media on the hot political topic of Sudanese “street gang” violence in Melbourne.

In his piece, Mr Yoa wrote: “Nobody should ever try and cover up or defend this unacceptable behaviour — to do so is immoral and inexplicable. It is upsetting and completely false.”

Spurred on by social media, several media outlets have picked apart Yoa’s claims, forcing the newspaper that published the piece, The Age, to issue a front-page apology and correction.

“Several of the assertions made by Nelly Yoa in this article about his personal circumstances have been challenged, exaggerated or found not to be true,” the newspaper stated.

However, Yoa told the HuffPost today he stands by his claims and that media reports contrary to them were examples of “lazy journalism”.

South Sudanese Community Association in Victoria chairman Kot Monoah and spokesman Richard Deng told Fairfax Media yesterday they doubted Mr Yoa had worked or currently worked with troubled South Sudanese youths.

“He is putting a lie out there that he is trying to help young kids,” Mr Deng said. “He is just trying to help himself.

“Melbourne is very small when it comes to this community ... how is no one aware of the work he says he is doing?”

“Nelly is not closely associated with the community and his recent comments to the media outlets can only be interpreted as carrying no weight whatsoever or any endorsement from the community,” Mr Monoah added.

Yoa’s comments came after a string of high-profile violent incidents in December. Picture: Nicole Garmston/ News Corp Australia.
Yoa’s comments came after a string of high-profile violent incidents in December. Picture: Nicole Garmston/ News Corp Australia.

Yoa told news.com.au today he “wasn’t surprised to hear comments made by both Kot and Richard” — insisting they took issue with him because of a tribal divide.

“Both Kot and Richard are based in the western suburbs of Melbourne,” he said.

“I’m based in the south eastern suburbs. I’m from the Nuer tribe and Kot and Richard are from Dinka tribe. They both hate Nuer people and we never get along.”

However, Mr Monoah defended himself and Mr Deng against the tribal claim, saying: “I have worked with all ethnic groups including chairman of Federation of South Sudanese Community Association who is my counterpart in the community and who is a Nuer and relative of Nelly Yoa.”

In February, Mr Yoa told a local newspaper he took Usain Bolt to meet “Apex gang members” to inspire them.

Richard Deng from the South Sudanese Community Association of Victoria cast doubt on Yoa’s claims. Picture: Mark Wilson/News Corp Australia.
Richard Deng from the South Sudanese Community Association of Victoria cast doubt on Yoa’s claims. Picture: Mark Wilson/News Corp Australia.

The Australian also reported yesterday the young 'sportsman' is also fighting allegations of plagiarism.

As youth co-ordinator of Melbourne-based youth support service Afri-Aus Care, Yoa wrote an opinion piece with six ­detailed recommendations for the government and police to tackle street gangs.

However, The Australian reports that large sections of the piece are substantially the same as those from a 2015 article by Filipino development analyst Manola de Vos published on development website Devex.com.

Mr Yoa told the newspaper he was “shocked” by the similarities — but added that the likeness was coincidental.

“I’m aware of (the allegations) and I stand firmly on what I wrote, and if it seems similar then it’s ­because I’ve got pretty much the same mindset as this person,” he told the newspaper.

On his sporting claims, he told the HuffPost today: “These events occurred over five years ago. I don’t have any records. It’s all a trial. If you aren’t successful, what’s the point of photos or records if you don’t sign with them?”

Share your story ——benjamin.graham@news.com.au or follow @bengrahamjourno on Twitter.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/nelly-yoa-stands-by-football-claim-despite-controversy/news-story/59ef69e4372aedfef33fdefe89a3e937