Lazio have fired their falcon handler after he bizarrely posted pictures of his brand new prosthetic penis on social media.
Marco Baroni’s side currently sit fourth in the Serie A table however their main concerns are away from the football pitch after Juan Bernabe’s strange antics.
Bernabe – who was fired by the club back in 2021 for making a fascist salute before being hired again years later – had been in charge of controlling Lazio’s eagle mascot, who appears at every home game.
However, after he underwent prosthetic penis surgery and shared pictures online, the club have confirmed that the 56-year-old has been relieved of his duties.
In a statement, the club said: ‘SS Lazio, shocked by the photographic and video images of Mr. Juan Bernabe and by reading the statements that accompanied them, announces that it has interrupted, with immediate effect, all relations with him, given the seriousness of his behaviour.
‘The Club is aware of the shared pain that the loss of the eagle will cause to fans in upcoming home matches, but believes that it is not possible for everyone, especially with the historic symbol of the eagle, to be associated with a person who, with his initiative, made the continuation of the relationship inadmissible.’
Lazio fired their falcon handler after he posted updates about his brand new prosthetic penis
Juan Bernabe had been in charge of controlling Lazio’s eagle – Olimpica – prior to matches
Bernabe then appeared on Spanish radio station ‘La Zanzara’ to provide his side of the story and insisted that the surgery was needed.
He explained: ‘I had surgery to increase my sexual performance because I am very active… I need to ejaculate every time I have free time. It was a wonderful operation.
‘I did it to perform like when I was young. My erection is natural but with this device I press a button that allows me to perfectly control both the erection and the time.
‘My conscience is clear, I only published it to inform people about the surgery. For me, nudity is normal because I grew up in a naturist family and with an open mind, I do not understand what the relationship of my photo is with pornography,’ he explains.
‘Everyone likes sex. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t take drugs, but I like sex like all men, and men always try to have greater sexual capacity.
‘I am a very active man and I live with a partner, but I go out with other women. The woman who is with me knows this because she understands that, for me, sex is a necessity, she has a very open mind. I would like to have sex once or twice a day.’
Bernabe’s sacking comes as the latest controversy to envelop the falcon handler after he was dismissed for making a fascist salute at a match back in 2021.
Responding to the incident at the time, after he was reinstated at the club, Bernabe denied any wrongdoing.
Bernabe pictured holding the eagle before a Lazio training session in front of their supporters
Marco Baroni’s side currently sit fourth in the Serie A table and are pushing for a top four finish
‘I was born in the army, I come from a right-wing culture. I support VOX like several football friends of mine and I am proud of it,’ he told Il Messaggero.
‘Being from Lazio? An honour in every sense, it makes me feel more masculine. Mussolini? I admire him a lot’.
Back in December, Italian football was embroiled in controversy after fans were seen performing the fascist salute after Benito Mussolini’s great-grandson scored his first professional goal.
Romano Floriani Mussolini, who is on loan at Serie B side Juve Stabia from Lazio, scored the only goal of the game as in a 1-0 win over Cesena.
After scoring Mussolini put his finger to his lips, but fans responded by chanting his name and performing the Roman salute.
The gesture, which involves extending the right arm straight with the palm facing down, is associated with fascism and was frequently performed by Benito Mussolini.
Benito Mussolini, who founded and led the National Fascist Party, was the Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 until he was overthrown in 1943. He was executed in 1945.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
