The club said they were “shocked” by the images and sacked the bird-handler with immediate effect.
Serie A club Lazio have parted ways with the man responsible for handling their eagle mascot after he posted explicit images of his prosthetic penis on social media.
Juan Bernabe has been the club’s falconer since the 2010-11 season and has developed a strong bond with Olimpia – the eagle mascot – over the last fourteen years.
The 56-year-old takes to the Stadio Olimpico pitch with Olimpia before every home match, and flies the bird over the crowd of 70,000 football fans.
Earlier this week, the club posted a statement to its website announcing that they had decided to part ways with Bernabe after he shared images and videos of his penis on his social media after undergoing implant surgery.
Lazio said they were “shocked” by the images and added that they were aware of the “shared pain that the loss of the eagle will cause to fans for upcoming home matches” but explained it was “impossible to associate our historical symbol with such (an) individual”.
The content in question included several photographs of the falconer’s genitalia from different angles. The images were shared by Italian outlets Reppublica and Iltempo.
Bernabe defended his decision to share the explicit content online, telling Italian radio station La Zanzara: “I had the surgery to increase my sexual performance because I am very active… I need to ejaculate whenever I have free time.
“A wonderful operation, I did it to be as fit as I was when I was young. My erection is natural,” he continued. “But with this device I press a button that allows me to perfectly control both the erection and the timing.
“I put the video on my private profile so it’s a private thing, if people then circulate it, what can I do? My conscience is clear, I only published it to let people know about the operation.”
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It isn’t the first time Bernabe has got himself into trouble for his activities outside of his profession.
He was suspended in 2021 after performing a fascist salute at the end of a game against Inter Milan.
Footage revealed that Bernadbe had also shouted the words “duce, duce”, which translates as “leader, leader” – an act commonly associated with former fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
“I did it and I don’t regret it because I admire Mussolini, he did great things for Italy as Franco did for Spain,” Bernabe said at the time.
