John Winton Fashanu (born 18 September 1962) is an English television presenter and former professional footballer.
As a footballer he was a centre-forward from 1978 until 1995, most notably in an eight-year spell at Wimbledon in which he won the FA Cup in 1988 and scored over 100 goals in all competitions.
When he was five, he and his brother were fostered by Alf and Betty Jackson and were subsequently brought up in Shropham near Attleborough, Norfolk.
Fashanu's footballing career began at Norwich City in 1979, and he turned professional two years later – just as his brother Justin was transferred to Nottingham Forest from the relegated Carrow Road club.
Norwich were promoted straight back to the First Division in 1981–82, but Fashanu managed just five league appearances and scored once.
Having failed to win a regular place in Norwich's first team, he joined Lincoln City on a free transfer on 23 September 1983, when they were in the Third Division.
In 1988, Fashanu helped Wimbledon win the FA Cup, beating Liverpool in a final that was billed as a "rags versus riches" affair, although the two clubs were separated by just six places in the First Division - as Liverpool had been the dominant side in English football for some 15 years whereas Wimbledon had played just two seasons in the First Division and only 11 as a Football League club.
With the likes of Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise, he was one of the "Crazy Gang" which had built up a reputation for this style of play.
However, injury restricted him to just 13 games and three goals for a Villa side who narrowly avoided relegation that season.
[7] In 1995, he hit the front pages as well as the back when The Sun published allegations of match fixing against Fashanu, fellow Wimbledon player Hans Segers and Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
[12] In 2003, he became the manager of his own Sunday league football team Fash FC as part of a television reality show.
As an ex-Wimbledon player, I know all about the heroics of the likes of Roy Law and Dickie Guy in the old days, as well as what the new boys have been doing at AFC Wimbledon".
[14] In August 2009, Fashanu, who in 2000[15] accused Bob Minton and Ibrahim Babangida of stealing money from Nigeria, apologised saying, "I can say it again and again, that there was nothing like debt buy-back or any billions stacked away in any account anywhere.
[20] However, in an interview with TalkSPORT in 2012, John Fashanu claimed his brother was not gay and was merely an attention seeker.
Fashanu appeared on an episode of The Big Breakfast the following week, to challenge both Akabusi and Crooks to a debate.