Juan Bernabé, the Lazio falconer at the centre of a bizarre penis implant scandal, is refusing to leave the club’s training ground following his sacking.
Bernabé has handled the Serie A club’s eagle, named Olimpia, since 2010 and flies the bird over the club’s Stadio Olimpico before their home matches.
However, his involvement with the club was swiftly terminated on Monday after he shared explicit videos and pictures of his penile implant surgery on social media.
In a statement, Lazio said they were ‘shocked’ by Bernabé’s action and said the eagle will not be seen at upcoming home games following the handler’s sacking.
However, despite being let go from his role, reports in Italy say that Bernabé has now barricaded himself at the club’s training ground where he has lived for the past 15 years.
The 56-year-old is still recovering from the implant surgery and is said to have presented a medical certificate when asked to leave the club site.
The report adds that Bernabé wants to speak with the club president Claudio Lotito to try and salvage his previous role having criticised the owner for his comments against him.
‘President Lotito has unleashed the hatred of the Lazio people against me. I’m getting death threats,’ he said.
‘I am psychologically tested, but I ask for forgiveness.’
Lotito, however, appears unlikely to reverse the club’s decision having spoken out publically against Bernabé’s actions.
‘I am someone who goes to church every Sunday, I have not missed it in 67 years, I have an irreproachable behavior from all points of view, I fight battles for change and moralization and you behave in that way?’ he said.
‘He has worked with us for 15 years, but I fired him within the hour because I do not consider anyone. Lazio is a publicly traded company; we must adhere to procedures.’
Speaking before his dismissal, Bernabè told Radio24m, via Adnkronos, that he had no regret over publishing the results of his penile implant surgery on social media.
‘I put the video on my private profile so it’s a private thing,’ he said. ‘If people then circulate it what can I do?
‘My conscience is clear, I published it only to let people know about the surgery.’
Asked if he regretted posting the images, he said: ‘Absolutely not, I’ve never regretted anything, let alone doing it for something that has a medical purpose.’
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