Victor Osimhen racism row: Ex-Napoli chief rejects Super Eagles star’s claims

Former Napoli sporting director Mauro Meluso has strongly denied racism accusations made by Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, Soccernet.ng reports.

Meluso's reaction follows fresh comments from the Galatasaray forward about his difficult final months at the Italian club.

Osimhen, now playing for Galatasaray, recently claimed he was treated ‘like a dog' during his time at Napoli and suggested racist undertones surrounded a controversial TikTok video posted by the club after he missed a penalty.

The incident, which sparked global debate at the time, became one of the key moments that led to the striker’s departure from Naples in 2024.

Meluso has now publicly rejected those accusations. Speaking to Radio Napoli Centrale, he insisted the club never intended to insult or humiliate its star player and moved quickly to calm tensions once the video began circulating online.

“Regarding the TikTok video case, I remember that Nicola Lombardo (Napoli's communications director) and I calmed Osimhen down,” Meluso said as per TMW.

“He was furious the day after that video came out. We were accused of racism, but there was nothing wrong with that; it was just a bit of irony.”

The former director stressed that Napoli as an institution stands firmly against discrimination and said the suggestion of racist behaviour did not reflect the values of the club or the city.

“He took it very badly, but woe betide anyone who dared to use racist language: Napoli abhors any form of racism. And so do the people of the city.”

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Victor Osimhen: Painful Napoli separation

Despite enjoying enormous success in Italy, scoring 76 goals in 133 matches, the relationship between player and club deteriorated rapidly after the TikTok episode. Osimhen believes broken promises and poor handling of the situation pushed him toward an exit.

Meluso acknowledged the emotional impact the controversy had on the forward but maintained that the situation was misunderstood.

“Victor had renewed his contract a few days before Christmas, and until December the club still didn't knoW what to do.

“That TikTok video really affected him because it involved the intervention of some Nigerian government representatives who made some harsh statements. It had a media impact, which in my opinion was non-existent because no one wanted to offend him; someone exploited it.

*But certainly not his agent Calenda, who has always been very fair.”

Osimhen remains one of the most important figures in Napoli’s modern history. His 26 league goals powered the club to the 2022-23 Serie A title, their first in 33 years.

However, what began as a legendary partnership ended in a tense separation. The striker left Napoli in the summer of 2024, initially joining Galatasaray on loan before completing a permanent move after an impressive season in Turkey.