The Big Lead

'Shocked' Serie A side Lazio fires club falconer over penis photos

Lazio fans will have to live without their iconic eagle mascot after its handler was fired for sharing pics of his penis enlargement surgery.

By Simon Head

Aug 08, 2009; Beijing, CHINA; Players of Lazio celebrate the victory after defeating Inter Milan 2:1 in the final of Italian Super Cup at the National Stadium, also know as the Bird's Nest. Mandatory Credit: CSPA via Imagn Images
Aug 08, 2009; Beijing, CHINA; Players of Lazio celebrate the victory after defeating Inter Milan 2:1 in the final of Italian Super Cup at the National Stadium, also know as the Bird's Nest. Mandatory Credit: CSPA via Imagn Images / CSPA-Imagn Images
facebooktwitter

Serie A side Lazio have fired the man who looks after the club's eagle mascot after images and video of the man's penis were shared online.

Juan Bernabe has handled Lazio's eagle mascot Olimpia for the past 15 years as the club's falconer, with the famous bird of prey flying over the club's Stadio Olimpico before every home game.

RELATED: A move to Barcelona could kickstart Marcus Rashford's revival

Bernabe recently underwent penis enlargement surgery and the 56-year-old, who was clearly proud of how things turned out, decided it was a good idea to share photos and videos of the finished result on his social media.

Club officials were alerted to the photos and, in a statement, said they were "shocked" by what they saw and immediately fired Bernabe from his role, "due to the seriousness of his conduct".

A club statement continued, "We, and the historic symbol of the eagle, can no longer be associated with a person who with his behaviour has made the continuation of any relationship impossible."

However, Bernabe told Italian radio station Radio24 that he didn't regret publishing the photos, saying, ”Nudity is normal. I grew up in an open-minded, naturist family".

It all means that Olimpico's matchday flybys at Lazio home games may now be a thing of the past, with Lazio acknowledging "the pain, shared by all, that the loss of the eagle in the next home games will cause to the fans".

It wasn't the first controversial incident involving the club's now-former falconer. In 2021, Bernabe was suspended by the club after being caught on camera performing a fascist salute and chanting, "duce, duce," which means, "leader, leader," after a match with Inter Milan.

Bernabe was unapologetic for the incident at the time, saying, "I did it and I don't regret it, because I admire Mussolini. He did great things for Italy, as Franco did for Spain. I admire both of them, and I'm proud of it."

MORE TOP STORIES from The Big Lead
NBA: The Nets are still hoping to get Giannis
CFB: Carson Beck will disappoint Miami fans
NFL: Ref apologizes to Josh Allen
NFL: Please stop the Monday night playoff games

Home/Soccer