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28th September 2023
09:48am BST
Victor Osimhen's celebration told the story of the last 24 hours of events at Napoli.
Before their game against Udinese on Wednesday, Napoli had soured relations with the 24-year-old after posting a TikTok where they mocked the forward for missing a penalty in their game against Bologna.
Despite the controversy, Osimhen started for the Serie A champions and scored - ending his four-game wait for a goal - but instead of being his usual animated self, the Nigeria international adopted a far more relaxed stance while the rest of his teammates went over to congratulate him.
The 24-year-old's refusal to celebrate comes after he deleted all traces of Napoli from his social media after the first TikTok video showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty, but using a strange sped-up voice with the caption 'Gimme penalty please' before he blazed the spot-kick wide of the post.
Another video, from an earlier date, compared Osimhen to a coconut, with many labelling the video as having a racist motive behind it.
After the incident the forward's agent, Roberto Calenda, suggested that Osimhen may take legal action against the club. He said: "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."
Napoli fans meanwhile showed their support for Osimhen in a sold-out Diego Maradona stadium by chanting his name however he may not be there for longer with reports suggesting clubs in Saudi Arabia may make a January move for the forward.
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