Osimhen under attack for supporting club’s ‘anti-racist statement’ against Mourinho
Nigerian and Galatasary forward Victor Osimhen, faced backlash on Monday from netizens for supporting his club’s “anti-racist” statement against Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho.
Galatasary had issued a statement to discredit Mourinho’s claim at his post-match interview after their Monday’s 0-0 draw.
In the interview, Mourinho welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign referee for the game and also praised Slavko Vincic of Slovenia for a “top performance.”
Mourinho said he’d gone to see the referee and thank him following the game. When he saw the fourth official — a Turkish referee — Mourinho said he told him: “If you are the referee … would be a disaster.”
Asked about a challenge early in the match, he said a Turkish referee would have reacted with a yellow card “after the big dive and their bench jumping around like monkeys.”
Reacting, Galatasary planned to start criminal proceedings against Mourinho and file complaints with soccer’s governing body after accusing the Fenerbahce coach of making racist comments.
In a statement, Galatasaray said Mourinho had “persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people.
“Today, his discourse has escalated. We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho and shall accordingly submit official complaints to UEFA and FIFA.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Osimhen reposted the anti-racism statement on his Instagram handle in support of his club.
The player’s action has, therefore, sparked criticism among netizens.
Some believed that it was unworthy of Osimhen to support such a claim from his club because Mourinho was quoted out of context, while others believed that he had only aligned with the club that is paying him.
A user on X.com who identifies as #Olalekanjosephs said, “I just hate the fact that any small thing, Osimhen don jump on social media and post – I disagree with the interpretation of what’s been said. But sometimes, it’s common sense to just take yourself out of some controversies and be patient instead of being overly passionate.”
Another user who identifies as #IamJayBangz wrote, “Until UEFA judgment comes, though. But I never noticed ur opinion when Osimhen was rude to Finidi. U also didn’t mention the part Osimhen told Josè to shut up, but U can talk about Halaand comment to Arteta. Make all of unah on Osimhen pay roll collect unah allowance in peace.”
“Galatasaray can never convince me Mourinho is racist. They themselves are the ones who are racists because why would you get triggered by the monkey word?
“Africans and blacks mostly suffer racism. Leave this agenda. Osimhen boys do not carry the am for head-on top agenda,” one ElikorBenson said.
Another user who identified as #Oloye opined, “It was posted on Victor’s IG. That was a choice he made. Galatasaray will not stop paying his salary if he chooses not to. He’s on loan there, and he hasn’t signed a permanent transfer contract. He can pick and choose what to get involved in.”
One user who identified as Propsbank said Osihmen needed to invest in personal advisers and also focus on the damn pitch and leave the noise.
However, a user who identifies as #AsiwajuLerry claimed that Osimhen never called Mourinho a racist, adding, “He never released a statement; Galatasaray did.
“But somehow, you guys have made Victor Osimhen the scapegoat here for sharing a post by his club to his Instagram story. Hatred and agenda dun blind una eyes.”
Reponding a user said who tweeted with the handle #Emmanuel said, “Honestly saying he shouldn’t be accountable for something he shared just because he didn’t post is laughable.
“I can categorically tell you many people saw Osimhen’s post before Gala and an African posting that gives the matter some dangerous narrative against Jose.”
Another user #Omaide wrote, “Na only osimhen dey the club can’t he just ignore and not share to his story?
“All these una makelele defense every time dey pami.”
