In a somber turn of events, Napoli’s striker, Victor Osimhen, chose not to celebrate his recent goal for the club, a decision influenced by the club’s recent mockery of him on social media.
Osimhen, who played a pivotal role in Napoli’s triumphant Serie A title run last season, a feat accomplished for only the third time in the club’s history, enjoys near-iconic status among the fans. His stellar performances last season led to fans serenading him with chants reminiscent of those once reserved for the legendary Argentine, Diego Maradona.
However, the relationship between Osimhen and the club has soured following a regrettable incident. Napoli’s official TikTok account posted a video of Osimhen missing a penalty against Bologna, a move seen as mocking the striker who had played a significant role in securing Napoli’s first Scudetto since 1990.
Osimhen put an end to his four-game goal drought during Wednesday night’s match against Udinese, helping Napoli regain their winning form after failing to secure a victory in their previous three Serie A matches. He scored the second goal of the game.
Following his goal at the end of the first half, Osimhen’s reaction spoke volumes about his discontent with the club. Instead of celebrating, he turned away momentarily, ensuring the ball had crossed the line, before slowly making his way to his teammates for the celebration. This was a clear statement of his dissatisfaction with the club’s management.
Osimhen, known for his exuberant goal celebrations, unmistakably conveyed his unhappiness with the club’s actions regarding the social media videos. Nevertheless, the stadium announcer and fans showed their support by chanting his name in solidarity, acknowledging his significance to the team, despite the recent turmoil.
The ill-conceived video featured a viral trend soundbite on the social media platform, involving a high-pitched voice calling for a penalty and the caption “Gimme penalty, please.” The video depicted Osimhen appealing for a penalty followed by his subsequent miss.
In response to the now-deleted video, Osimhen’s agent issued a statement: “A video mocking Victor was first made public and then, but now belatedly, deleted. We reserve the right to take legal action and any other useful initiative to protect Victor.”
Osimhen himself has reacted by removing most of his Napoli-related posts from his Instagram account.
Victor Osimhen
Victor James Osimhen
This season he played in total 6 times for 500 minutes for Serie A.
Victor Osimhen scored 4 goals for Napoli. He procured no assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 5th in Serie A. In the last match Napoli won 4-1 against Udinese. The next match in Serie A will be against Lecce.
Napoli performance and stats
Napoli is currently 5th in the Serie A with 11 points.
In the last 6 games, it has won 3 times, drawn twice, and lost once. In its last match, Napoli won 4-1 against Udinese.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 12 goals and conceding 6.
Napoli will play the next match in Serie A against Lecce on Saturday 30th of September in Lecce. The prediction is Napoli winning the match.