The dispute between Victor Osimhen and his former club, Napoli, has intensified after a former sporting director strongly denied the striker’s claims of racism.
Mauro Meluso, who worked in Napoli’s management during Osimhen’s time in Italy, has spoken out against the Nigerian forward’s recent accusations. Osimhen, who now plays for Galatasaray, told an Italian newspaper that Napoli treated him “like a dog” and failed to support him after a controversial video was posted on social media.
The issue began when Napoli’s official TikTok account posted a video that appeared to mock Osimhen after he missed a penalty. In his recent interview, the 27-year-old suggested there were racist undertones to the incident and said broken promises from the Serie A club forced him to leave.
Meluso, however, has a different view of what happened. He insists the club had no racist intentions.
“Regarding the TikTok video case, I remember that Nicola Lombardo and I calmed Osimhen down. He was furious the day after the video was released,” Meluso said. “We were accused of racism, but there was absolutely no intention of targeting one of our own players. It was meant to be ironic.”
Meluso stressed that Napoli is firmly against racism. “Woe betide anyone who would use racist language. Napoli rejects all forms of racism,” he stated. He also defended the club’s fans, saying he has great respect for them and believes they are mature enough to understand the situation.
Meluso acknowledged that the video had a deep personal effect on Osimhen, made worse by strong statements from a Nigerian government official.
“That TikTok video affected him deeply… It had a media and personal impact,” Meluso explained. “For me, there was no intent to offend him, but someone instrumentalized the situation.” He made it clear he was not blaming Osimhen’s agent, whom he described as “always very correct.”
Despite scoring 76 goals in 133 matches and helping Napoli win the league title, Osimhen says the lack of support from the club damaged him both emotionally and professionally. His comments have reopened a conflict many thought had ended when he left for Galatasaray.
In a separate and unrelated development, Osimhen recently apologized to his current club, Galatasaray, for a different reason.
During a victory celebration, the striker accidentally damaged part of a stadium ceiling while jumping for joy with his teammates. He took to social media to say sorry for the mishap, which was captured on video by the club.