Napoli Lawyer Explains Successful Strategy in Osimhen Appeal

Napoli attorney Mattia Grassani has described the team’s approach to get the ban of Victor Osimhen reduced from two to one match.

Osimhen was handed a straight red card during their Serie A season opener against Venezia on Sunday, August 22.

After missing the game against Genoa, Napoli decided to appeal the ban and to get the match reduced.

The appeal committee of the football body met on Tuesday and after much deliberations and discussions, the ban was reduced to one game.

The outcome of the appeal mean that Osimhen will be available for Napoli clash against Juventus this weekend.

And explaining how Napoli managed to reduce the two-match ban, Grassani told Radio Kiss Kiss: “The Venezia player, Daan Heymans, did not suffer any consequence from the incident. The doctors did not need to intervene, and he did not even protest. Moreover, it was not true that the contact happened while the ball was out of play. Referee Gianluca Aureliano had penned that in his initial report. Instead, it was close by. We believe these three aspects were decisive.”

Citing a similar scenario between Ciro Immobile and Arturo Vidal, Grassani said:“In that instance, the Lazio striker got a one-game ban directly in the first degree of judgment. We could not reach out to Osimhen because he was with his national team. We prepared some questions for Aureliano and wanted the court to hear his answers.

“President Aurelio De Laurentiis was enthusiastic. He strongly believed in a positive resolution. He would have taken every measure to clarify the position of Osimhen. In the end, the gesture was merely a reaction to being pulled by the Venezia player. It was a pretty complex case. The firm determination of the chairman helped us go through with it. It was not a given that the outcome would be in our favor.”