The Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen’s dispute with his Italian club team, Napoli, has drawn the attention of the Nigerian Ministry of Sports Development, which has stated that it will not tolerate any injustice being done to the nation’s athletes.
This was announced on Thursday by John Enoh, the Minister of Sports Development, who also said that he had begun taking action to address the conflict between Osimhen and Napoli.
Earlier, Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, the club team, said that it had no intention of upsetting Osimhen by publishing a video on TikTok that seemed to make fun of its star striker, according to a report from SaharaReporters.
A video showing the Nigerian forward missing a penalty shot was posted on Napoli’s social media page, and over the top of it, a high-pitched voice could be heard saying: “Gimme penalty please”.
Because of the video, Osimhen’s agent suggested they pursue legal action against the Serie A team, and the player deleted any references to the team from his Instagram account.
After Osimhen chose not to celebrate his goal against Udinese, there have been rumours that he may leave Napoli. Real Madrid and Saudi Arabian clubs are reportedly interested in signing him.
Napoli has made an effort to calm the issue by issuing a statement in which they claim they had no intention of upsetting Osimhen, but they refrained from offering an apology.
In any case, the club had not intended for Victor to take offence at him, it had continued.
The Nigerian sports minister expressed sadness over the situation while adding that he had spoken with both the country’s ambassador to Italy, Mfawa Abam, and foreign affairs minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar to try and find a solution.
Enoh revealed this on his X account on Thursday and added that he had also spoken to Tobi Amusan, a well-known athlete from Nigeria, the previous week.
Victor Osimhen, a Super Eagles player, was the subject of news reports from Napoli during the past weekend that deeply pained me. Tobi Amusan’s struggles haven’t been any less severe, which is why I tried to contact her directly last week, Enoh wrote.
“My office is attempting to speak with Victor Osimhen directly in order to grasp the problems firsthand. We are devoted to gathering the relevant information.
“In the meantime, I’m in touch with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and Ambassador Mfawa Abam of Nigeria to the Republic of Italy.
“Together, we are using diplomatic avenues with Italy to look into the situation more appropriately.”We are dedicated to making sure that our athletes receive the respect they deserve and are not subjected to any injustice under the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Upon taking office, I made it abundantly clear, in words and deeds, that the welfare of our athletes, whether they are based at home or abroad, would be our topmost priority as we create the environment that enables and ensures their continued success,” the president said.
