AFCON 2023: Nigerians drag Napoli for not celebrating Victor Osimhen’s heroics
i

Napoli have refused to acknowledge Victor Osimhen's performance at AFCON 2023 |Photo Credit: Pooja Media/DavyBen PulseSports Nigeria

AFCON 2023: Nigerians drag Napoli for not celebrating Victor Osimhen’s heroics

Asukwo Oduo 11:25 - 03.02.2024

Napoli is in trouble again with Nigerian fans because of their treatment of star striker Victor Osimhen

Napoli Football Club has once again found herself in the black books of football lovers from West African country Nigeria.

The Naples-based club is being criticised on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) because they have refused to acknowledge the performance of their star striker Victor Osimhen. 

Victor Osimhen and the Super Eagles have been outstanding so far in the continental competition taking place in Ivory Coast, having booked a place in the Semi-finals.

Backstory: What happened between Victor Osimhen and Napoli?

The story dates back to September last year when Victor Osimhen missed a penalty in Napoli’s goalless draw with Bologna. 

Napoli’s official TikTok account trolled the Nigerian on social media with a video making fun of him for his penalty miss. This didn’t go down well with Osimhen. The Nigerian responded by deleting all pictures of himself in a Napoli shirt from his Instagram account.

However, Napoli soon apologised, with the club President stating that they didn’t mean to offend Osimhen.  

Victor Osimhen then penned a new deal at the Diego Amando Maradona stadium, but weeks later the club revealed that Victor Osimhen would leave in the summer.

Napoli suffer backlash from Nigerians on social media

The ongoing AFCON in Ivory Coast has seen many clubs including those in the English Premier League add their voices to support their player’s journey in the competition.

However, Nigerians noticed that Napoli has yet to put out a single post on social media to celebrate Victor Osimhen’s heroics.

Although the 25-year-old has only found the back of the net once in Nigeria’s opening game against Equatorial Guinea, he has been a nightmare for many defenders, and has been instrumental in the Super Eagles’ success so far.   

Reactions - Napoli won the league with the best African player 

It appears the romance between Victor Osimhen is gradually ending, but not on a note that anyone would expect, especially for a player who has brought so much joy to the city of Naples. 

As at press time, Napoli FC had yet to respond to the comments from social media.

Tags: