Italian soccer club Lazio has fired the falconer who handled their mascot, an eagle named Olimpia, after he posted footage online showing off his new prosthetic penis. The bird trainer, Juan Bernabé, posted photos to his private social media accounts showing the result of his penile implant surgery, which the Associated Press reports was for non-medical reasons. “The club realizes—and shares—the pain that the fans will feel at the loss of the eagle in the next home games, but believes that it is not possible to be associated with a person who, by his own initiative, has made the continuation of the relationship unacceptable,” Lazio said in a statement, while also adding that it was “impossible” to have their “historical symbol” associated with Bernabé. Meanwhile, the falconer claimed that he has no regrets and told Italian radio show La Zanzara in an interview Monday that he felt “very proud” to have been part of Lazio. Bernabé was previously suspended by Lazio in 2021 after doing a fascist salute while chanting Benito Mussolini’s nickname at the end of a match. “I admire him so much,” he said of the Italian dictator in his interview Monday.
Read it at The Associated Press
