This evening, Napoli released a formal statement on the club website.
“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.”
It is not exactly an apology, more a clarification of their intention, but it might not be enough to completely calm the situation.
Osimhen did play and score for Napoli in last night’s 4-1 Serie A victory over
Udinese, but he was probably expecting more than this statement.