Victor Osimhen at loggerheads with Napoli after racist TikTok post

The Nigerian striker is contemplating suing Napoli after the club posted a derisive video of him on TikTok.

Controversy has struck once again in Italy! This time, Victor Osimhen is is reserving “the right to take legal action” against his own club Napoli. But what forced him to come to this decision?

It all began on Tuesday when the club posted a strange, racist video on TikTok mocking their own striker’s penalty miss against Bologna on Sunday.

As a result of that penalty miss, Napoli had to share a goalless draw with Bologna in Serie A. They are currently fifth in the standings with three wins, two draws, and a loss.

Such was the severity of the derision that the video prompted that it led Osimhen’s agent to make a public statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, suggesting that the video caused “very serious damage to the player”.

“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 said in the statement on Tuesday.

"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 other useful initiative to protect Victor. We reserve the right to take legal action and any other useful initiative to protect Victor.”

Having missed the penalty against Bologna, the now-deleted video featured a clip of the striker’s penalty miss with an odd, sped-up voice dubbed over the top.

Not only was the video strange and attacking in nature, but many have pointed out that it also contained racist elements - a common problem in Italy.

There has also been another video on TikTok, where Napoli tried to merge Osimhen’s face with a coconut.

All of this is quite bizarre given that the Nigerian striker scored 31 goals and led Napoli’s Serie A title charge last season. It was their first in over three decades.

He now expects an apology from the Italian champions with the player and his management wanting the club to firmly distance themselves from the social media post. The rift between the player and the club has also opened up speculations about a possible departure in the upcoming winter transfer window or even next summer.

Osimhen has several bidders in the Premier League and even Real Madrid would love to swoop him up.

The 24-year-old, who arrived for a club-record fee of €70 million potentially rising to €80 million in 2020, has also refused to sign a new contract with Napoli.

Moreover, he has also had arguments with Napoli manager Rudi Garcia. He was taken off the pitch with four minutes remaining in that goalless draw and seemed unhappy about the decision on the bench.

Garcia, however, has come to the defence of his player. “Even the greatest players in the history of football miss penalties. As for when he went off, we talked about that, what I say to my players remains in the locker room,” he told reporters after the game.

Since that controversy, Napoli returned to action in the Serie A and had a game against Udinese this mid-week. Osimhen was on target and found the back of the net in the 39^th minute as the defending champions ran riot with a 4-1 scoreline.