Napoli have announced they could 'take action' against midfielder Eljif Elmas after the Macedonian spoke to the press while on international duty.
The players are currently in a long-term dispute with chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis, after the squad originally refused to stay at a training retreat for the amount of time required by the president.
Since then, there's been a lockdown at the club with players not allowed to talk to the press - and now De Laurentiis is reportedly trying to sue players 50 per cent of their wages for damage to the club's image, according to Italian outlet Tuttosport.
Elmas gave an interview to the press while on international duty with Macedonia this weekend.
He didn't criticise the club, saying he still believes Napoli 'can win the Scudetto this season.'
'There are many teams in the running, such as Inter, Napoli and Roma, so it’ll be uncertain at the top to the very end,' Elmas said.
However, despite the nature of what the 20-year-old said, Napoli's Head of Communications Nicola Lombardo released a statement on Twitter on Saturday.
It read: 'SSC Napoli can confirm that Eljif Elmas spoke to the press without the club's authorisation during the current media blackout.
'SSC Napoli therefore reserves the right to take action against the player.'
In a further development, De Laurentiis is pursuing options to fine the players, and is seeking advice from lawyers.
There is a limit of 25 per cent to how much the players can be fined in relation to their salary, however Napoli are looking into whether this can be doubled to 50 per cent.
De Laurentiis claims the players' mutiny has damaged the reputation of the club worldwide, and image rights payments could also be withheld.
Such a radical move would have to be cleared in the Italian civil court system.
The fierce stand-off between players, management and the board is overshadowing Napoli's season so far - they're currently seventh in Serie A, 13 points off leaders Juventus.
The chairman has also threatened to sell key players, with Lorenzo Insigne, Allan and Kalidou Koulibaly all linked with moves away in the past few weeks.