The Lead Pastor of Zoe Household Global Church, Pastor Dolapo Lawal, has come under criticism following a viral sermon in which he declared that Arsenal F.C. would not win the English Premier League title.
The backlash followed Arsenal’s emergence as league champions after Manchester City F.C. played a 1-1 draw with AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday night ahead of the final round of matches.
In the resurfaced sermon, Pastor Lawal reportedly insisted that Arsenal could not win the title regardless of their points advantage, describing the club as “cursed.”
The cleric also stirred reactions after extending his comments to relationships, warning women against dating Arsenal supporters.
Following Arsenal’s title triumph, the video triggered widespread reactions across social media, with many football fans mocking the pastor over the failed prediction.
Media personality Nedu Wazobia mocked the cleric, questioning how he would face members of his church after Arsenal eventually won the English Premier League title.
Another social media user, Waheed Habeeb, predicted that Arsenal fans would attend church in large numbers wearing club jerseys for thanksgiving.
Dog Best Ndubuisi also joined the reactions, urging Arsenal supporters to storm the church wearing the club’s jerseys.
Francis Chuckwu stated that Arsenal fans would likely organise a thanksgiving service at the church following the victory.
Felix Aondosoo linked the online backlash to football banter culture, while Charles Ehimhen criticised the use of football banter on the pulpit.
Dogara Samuel accused the pastor of attempting to present personal football opinions as prophecy, noting that the narrative would have been different if Arsenal had lost the title race.
Azeez Akorede questioned the wisdom behind attacking a club with millions of supporters globally, including prominent Nigerians.
Enny Timmy also expressed disappointment over clerics engaging in football-related controversies, while Adebayo Samuel questioned the spiritual relevance of the comments.
Uche Micheal similarly argued that the statement would have been interpreted as divine prophecy if Arsenal had failed to win the title.
Amid the criticism, Pastor Lawal later released another video clarifying that his earlier comments were jokes and not prophecies.
According to him, the remarks were part of normal football banter with Arsenal fans in his church and not a divine revelation.
The pastor also reportedly organised a special thanksgiving service for Arsenal supporters in the church and encouraged women to consider dating Arsenal fans.
Despite the clarification, several social media users continued to criticise the cleric, accusing him of trivialising spiritual authority.
Among those who reacted was Apostle Henry Oburu, who argued that presenting such statements jokingly after initially framing them as prophecy raised concerns.
