#Soccer star Mirko Antonucci fired because he loved TikTok too much

Portuguese club Vitoria Setubal have terminated the contract of Roma forward Mirko Antonucci, who was playing with the club on loan, amid criticism over his social media exploits.

The Italian, 21, is arguably as popular for his off-field antics as he is for his football with an extensive following on TikTok and Instagram.

And it was on the video streaming platform where the final straw was taken, as widely alleged by Portuguese media. A clip of Antonucci smiling and dancing to a song just hours after Vitoria’s defeat to Boavista is said to have infuriated the club — and drew a public apology from the winger.

Vitoria boss Julio Velazquez informed the media earlier in the week that the player has been sent back to Rome.

While not specifying why the loan was terminated, the coach declared: “Mirko Antonucci is no longer a player at Vitoria.

“It was communicated to his parent club, Roma, that the loan ends now and that we no longer count on the player, above all out of respect for the fans and the history of the club and for all those who work on a daily basis to represent this team with the greatest responsibility and dignity.

“For what this badge represents, for the history of the club and out of respect for the fans, a Vitoria player must be one 24 hours a day.

“The situation is very simple, the club, the management, technical team and staff understood that the behavior of a player who was on loan was not what we wanted of a Vitoria player, nor what the fans deserve, on and off the pitch.”

Antonucci signed for Vitoria in January and regularly posts shots of his life with his girlfriend, the 22-year-old fashion influencer Ginevra Lambruschi.

With 540,000 Instagram followers, Lambruschi regularly features in the footballer’s TikTok clips.

The couple have been dating for around six months with one recent pic captioned: “Thank you for always being there for me, making me smile everyday and showing me the meaning of true love.”