The Nigerian government has voiced their support for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen after Napoli published an offensive TikTok video of the striker.
The nation’s sports minister, Senator John Owah Enoh, released a statement Friday evening responding to the video that went viral earlier this week.
“Over the last weekend, the developments arriving from Naples regarding striker Victor Osimhen made me very sad. My office is working hard to reach Osimhen firsthand and understand what the problems are, to establish the facts clearly,” he said in a statement to The Nation.
Enoh also announced that the government is using ‘diplomatic channels’ and the Nigerian ambassador to Italy to ‘explore the issue.’ He asserted that the government is “committed to ensuring that our athletes are afforded the respect they deserve and that they are not exposed to injustice, discrimination and unfair teasing.”
Napoli posted a video of Osimhen on their TikTok on Wednesday, poking fun at the striker for missing a penalty against Bologna. The since-deleted video garnered significant social media attention, and created a rift between Osimhen and the club. The striker refused to celebrate after scoring on Wednesday, and ignored his team-mates before a Serie A clash with Udinese.
The Italian club have apologised, claiming in a statement that they ‘never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club.’
Osimhen’s agent, meanwhile, has threatened legal action against the club, and manager Rudi Garcia referred to the incident as ‘clumsy behaviour’ in a press conference.