Napoli Releases Statement On Offensive Victor Osimhen TikTok Video
Italian Serie A club SSC Napoli have released an official statement on the offensive TikTok videos posted earlier in the week about Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen had threatened legal action against the Serie A champions after the club shockingly posted a discriminatory TikTok video following a missed penalty in 0-0 draw with Bologna on Sunday. The post notably upset the striker, who deleted most of all Napoli-related content on his Instagram account afterwards.
“Calcio Napoli, in order to avoid any exploitation on the topic, specifies that it never intended to offend or make fun of Victor Osimhen, the club’s technical asset,” Napoli said in a statement on its official website.
“To demonstrate this, during the summer training camp, the Club firmly rejected every offer received for the attacker’s transfer abroad.”
“It represents a fact of common experience that on social media, in particular on TikTok, expressive language has always been created with lightness and creativity, without having had, in the case involving Osimhen, any intention of mockery or derision.”
“However, if Victor had perceived any offence towards him, this was foreign to any will of the company,” the statement concluded.
Napoli have been keen to tie its star man down to a long-term contract after he fired them to their first Italian Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona. However, the recent TikTok post could further complicate negotiations.
On Wednesday, Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda confirmed that the player ‘reserved the right to take legal’ action against the club for the “unacceptable” TikTok video.
“What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable. A video mocking Victor was first made public and then, but now belatedly, deleted,” Calenda told the press.
“A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news. We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor.”
