Serie A champions, Napoli, have issued official statement over alleged mockery of Nigeria international Victor Osimhen for missing a penalty on Sunday.
The club in a statement on Thursday said it never intended to mock Osimhen, saying it valued the player.
“Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club.
“As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the Club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.
“Social media, in particular TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision
“In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended, ” Napoli said.
PlatinumPost reports that Osimhen, who was the club’s top scorer last season as the Parthenopeans won the Scudetto after three decades, missed the penalty that denied Napoli a chance to win all three points against Bologna on Sunday.
And with just four minutes to the end of the game, the Super Eagles striker was substituted for Giovanni Simeone.
Not happy with the substitution, Osimhen expressed his anger at Napoli coach Rudi Garcia as he walked away to the bench.
Osimhen has since sent his apologies to the coach and his teammates over his action but on Tuesday, the official TikTok of the team, which had posted a video three days ago referring to Osimhen as a coconut head, posted another video trolling the Nigerian for missing the penalty against Bologna