Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has denied allegations of assaulting a journalist in Istanbul, Turkey.
The journalist, Tolga Bozduman, claimed that Osimhen reacted aggressively when he and his colleagues photographed the footballer, alleging that the striker punched him during the encounter.
Bozduman alleged, “We filmed Osimhen at the exit with three of my colleagues. When the flashes went off, he went wild. He ran towards me screaming. He tried to take my camera, but I didn’t let go, and he punched me. It still hurts.”
Responding to the allegations after scoring the decisive goal in Galatasaray’s 1-0 victory over Konyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday, Osimhen denied the claims and vowed to take legal action.
The striker said: “I went to eat with my friends so I was coming back to go into my van and these guys just popped out from nowhere with cameras in my face and I was shocked.
“Obviously, you guys have seen the video on the internet, I was shocked. And I was asking them, what is the problem, why did you pop out with a camera in front of my face? And they said they are paparazzi, ‘Okay, what do you want?’ They didn’t say, they just put the camera on my face and there was a guy taking pictures.
“And then my friends went to meet them and said you cannot do that. You are professionals, you have to come if you want to ask for an interview. I never punched this guy, I never hit him or something like that.
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“I went to him, I was in the midst of them and I told him, you have to take the picture down. You have to delete it; it is my picture; I have every right to tell you to take it down. And then of course, his agenda. I am not new to this type of thing. I knew they were gonna lie and lie and lie.
“And this is a case of violence and he came out to lie, of course it is not gonna be easy. I don’t need to shout but I will take the necessary steps to make sure… if I hit him, he is going to get justice, if he lies, then he is gonna see the wrath of the law,” he added.
Osimhen, currently on loan from Napoli, described the incident as an agenda-driven attempt to tarnish his reputation and confirmed that he would pursue the matter legally.
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