Osimhen slammed for supporting anti-racist statement against Mourinho
Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian and Galatasaray forward, faced backlash on social media after supporting his club’s “anti-racist” statement against Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho, on Monday.
Galatasaray issued the statement to counter Mourinho’s comments made after their 0-0 draw on Monday. During a post-match interview, Mourinho welcomed the foreign referee’s appointment and praised Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic for his “top performance.” He later mentioned that he went to thank the referee but also noted that a Turkish referee would have been a disaster. Regarding a challenge in the match, he claimed that a Turkish referee would have issued a yellow card after a “big dive,” referring to the opposing team’s bench as “jumping around like monkeys.”
In response, Galatasaray announced plans to pursue criminal action against Mourinho, accusing him of making racist remarks. They also stated their intention to file complaints with UEFA and FIFA. The club released a statement denouncing Mourinho for making “persistently derogatory statements directed at the Turkish people” and declared the escalation of his discourse as racist.
Osimhen, on Tuesday, reposted the club’s anti-racism statement on his Instagram, showing his support. This move sparked criticism from netizens.
Some users felt that Osimhen was wrong to support the statement, arguing that Mourinho’s words were taken out of context. Others suggested that Osimhen was simply aligning with his club, which pays him. A user named #Olalekanjosephs criticized Osimhen for being too quick to post on social media, saying, “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, #IamJayBangz, remarked, “Until UEFA’s judgment comes, though. But I never noticed your opinion when Osimhen was rude to Finidi. You didn’t mention when Osimhen told Jose to shut up, but you can talk about Haaland’s comment to Arteta. Make all of unah on Osimhen payroll collect unah allowance in peace.”
One commenter, ElikorBenson, expressed doubt about the validity of Galatasaray’s claims, stating, “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.”
Meanwhile, a user named #Oloye argued that Osimhen should not feel pressured to share every statement from his club. “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.”
Propsbank advised Osimhen to focus more on his performance on the pitch and leave the noise behind, suggesting he should invest in personal advisers.
On the other hand, #AsiwajuLerry defended Osimhen, claiming that he didn’t call Mourinho a racist and only shared the club’s statement. “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,” he said.
In response to this, #Emmanuel tweeted, “Honestly saying he shouldn’t be accountable for something he shared just because he didn’t post it 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.”
Finally, another user, #Omaide, questioned, “Na only Osimhen dey the club? Can’t he just ignore and not share it to his story?”
The ongoing debate shows how polarizing Osimhen’s support of his club’s stance has become.
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