Victor Osimhen ‘100 per cent invested’ in Napoli claims head coach Rudi Garcia after ‘clumsy’ TikTok videos led to the star’s agent threatening to sue the club

• Victor Osimhen scored in Napoli’s 4-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday night
• The build-up was dominated by controversial social media posts by the club 
• Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here 

Napoli boss Rudi Garcia has insisted star striker Victor Osimhen ‘loves the jersey’ and is committed to the club, despite his relationship souring with the reigning Serie A champions over controversial TikTok videos.

Osimhen started and scored Napoli’s second goal in their 4-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday.

The Nigerian international ended his four-game wait for a goal but made the decision not to celebrate, amid a souring of his relationship with the club.

Napoli’s social media accounts caused controversy in the build-up to the match after posting videos on their Tik Tok account mocking Osimhen, leading to his agent threatening to take legal action.

Garcia admitted pre-match that the posts had made the build-up to the game ‘awkward’.

Victor Osimhen’s Napoli future has been thrust into doubt after social media posts by the club

Napoli head coach Rudi Garcia insisted Osimhen is fully committed to the Italian champions

Victor Osimhen scored Napoli’s second goal against Udinese on Wednesday evening

Your browser does not support iframes.

The Frenchman insisted after Napoli’s victory that Osimhen is fully committed to the Italian champions, despite the forward removing nearly all posts of him wearing the club’s shirt on Instagram.

Garcia also played down reports of a falling out with Osimhen, despite the striker’s touchling outburst after he was substituted in a goalless draw against Bologna on Sunday.

‘I can assure you that Victor loves this jersey,’ Garcia said, as per Football Italia. ‘He is invested 100 per cent in our project.

‘I have a very good relationship with Victor. I am happy for him because he scored tonight. 

‘After the match in Bologna, we were all frustrated, angry, Victor in particular, because he missed the penalty. On the sporting aspect and on other levels, especially on TikTok, there have been a lot of things to manage in recent days.

‘Over the last two days there was a bit of trouble with some clumsy behaviour. Nobody wanted to be hurtful, not the TikTok with the video of Victor, nor Victor by taking his photographs down on social media.

‘Nobody intended to hurt anyone, these are instinctive reactions and are understandable. It is his social media account, he can do what he wants with it.’

The initial TikTok video posted by the club centred around his penalty miss in Sunday’s goalless draw against Bologna.

Osimhen refused to celebrate his goal against Udinese amid the controversial social media posts

A TikTok video showed Osimhen appealing for the penalty using a strange sped-up voice and the caption ‘Gimme penalty, please’ (left) before blazing the penalty wide of the post (right) 

A second video, allegedly from the club’s account, compared Osimhen to a ‘coconut’

The video showed the 24-year-old appealing for a penalty, but using a strange sped-up voice with the caption ‘Gimme penalty please’ before showing him firing the spot-kick wide of the post.

Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda threatened legal action against the club, stating in a tweet on Tuesday: ‘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.

‘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.’ 

A second video, allegedly from the club’s account, was widely circulated on social media after the initial TikTok video.

The post saw compared Osimhen to a ‘coconut’, which is widely viewed as a racial slur.

Napoli returned to winning ways despite the controversy, with Piotr Zielinski giving the hosts the lead from the penalty spot before Osimhen’s strike.

Osimhen shook manager Rudi Garcia’s hand after coming off the pitch – after berating his manager when the same thing happened during a goalless draw with Bologna at the weekend 

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone, who came on as a late substitute for Osimhen, scored either side of a solo effort from Udinese’s Lazar Samardzic to seal a 4-1 win.

The result moved Napoli to fifth in Serie A after six matches, four points behind leaders Inter.

The controversial social media posts ahead of the match had led to doubts over Osimhen’s long-term future at the club.

Osimhen, who scored 26 goals to help the club end their 33-year wait for the Scudetto last season, is expected to be of interest to clubs from Saudi Arabia in January.

Real Madrid and Chelsea are known to hold an interest in the forward. 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article