Speaking to journalists outside Italy’s parliament building in Rome, 67-year-old senator and Lazio club owner Claudio Lotito said that Gabriele Antonini had been fired “at the speed of light” after appearing in controversial photos and videos posted on social media by Juan Bernabe.
Spaniard Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with club mascot Olimpia the eagle since 2010, caused scandal when he posted images of his erect penis following surgery.
Antonini put Bernabe under the knife on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis designed to improve the 56-year-old’s sexual performance.
“I haven’t once missed mass in 67 years, I behave in an irreproachable manner in every sense, I fight for change and morals and you behave like that?” Lotito said of Bernabe, according to news agency AGI.
“He was with us for 15 years but I sacked him within the hour because I don’t answer to anybody.”
Lotito said that the pair were sacked for violating “Lazio’s code of ethics, which requires behaviour that reflects the true values of sport”.
He added that Bernabe’s dismissal meant that Olimpia would no longer fly high around Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, as the presence of the eagle was “tied to that person”.
“I got the eagle mascot to create enthusiasm and passion among child supporters but the person who looked after that eagle behaved in a morally shoddy manner,” he said.
Lotito and Lazio took a less hard line with Bernabe in 2021 when he was briefly suspended for performing a fascist salute at the end of a match with Serie A rivals Inter Milan.
Bernabe was filmed by fans making the stiff-armed gesture and chanting “Duce, Duce” while holding Olimpia and dressed in full Lazio kit.
He then told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that he was “proud” to be a supporter of far-right Spanish political party Vox and admired dictators Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco.
On Tuesday, Lotito played down that incident, saying vaguely that he makes “professional judgements”, and describing Bernabe’s fascist salute as “behaviour that is a bit excessive”.
Lazio have long had a reputation for being associated with Italy’s far-right, largely due to their hardcore ultras who for decades have been some of the most notoriously fascist fans in Europe.
Their historic ultras, the ‘Irriducibili’, had friendly relations with hard-right groups across the continent, while fans have repeatedly directed anti-semitic chants at supporters of local rivals Roma.
© 2025 AFP