Higuain did not hold back after scoring the winning goal on his former stomping ground, incensing the fans who once idolised him and sending a clear message towards Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who was watching on from the stands.

That was disrespectful behaviour, according to Insigne, who says Higuain has otherwise maintained a good relationship with his former Napoli teammates.

"I had words with him in dialect, but he understood me," Insigne told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I was upset. He was here for three years, but I won't add anything else -- it was his choice. When he scored against us in Turin, he didn't celebrate, and he didn't either when he first scored in Naples.

"But this year, he did. He should have maintained a minimum of respect for us ex-teammates. He says he's still our friend and sends messages to some of us on the eve of games, and yet he then goes and celebrates in our face? It was disrespectful."

Insigne says he faces a similar level of disrespect each time he and his teammates take to the field away from Naples, due to a chant which has become a cult among home fans in which they call on the Mount Vesuvius volcano to erupt.

Just a few seasons ago, stadium closures -- partial and full -- were regularly sanctioned for such chants, but the Lega Serie A now appears to be turning a blind eye.

"It's not down to us footballers to find solutions, it's up to the institutions to do this," said Insigne, who gestured for Sampdoria fans to be quiet in Napoli's recent fixture at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris when they started the chant. "The Lega and Italian FA have got to take action because discrimination like that is racism.

"The chant 'Vesuvius, wash them away with your fire' really has got to stop."