On Monday, Italian soccer club Lazio fired its longtime falconer Juan Bernabé after the 56-year-old Spaniard posted photos on social media of, uh, himself following a penile implant surgery. In a statement, Lazio said "[w]e, and the historic symbol of the eagle, can no longer be associated with a person who with his behaviour has made the continuation of any relationship impossible." The club also said it was "stunned" to see the photos. As a result of Bernabé's firing, the club's eagle, Olimpia, will not fly at upcoming matches, as is tradition. Lazio's statement acknowledged the "hurt" that will be felt by the club's fans over Olimpia's absence.
Bernabé, who had been with the club since 2010, was operated on by Lazio's resident urologist, Gabriele Antonini. According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, the two met at the club's training ground, Formello. In an interview with Spanish radio station Radio24, Bernabé explained that the implant allows him to control his erections and how long he lasts during sexual activity, explaining that he "has to ejaculate whenever I have some free time." He went on to say that it was a "marvelous surgery" and that his erection is "natural, but with this implant, I can press a button that lets me perfectly control both the erection and the duration." If you're interested in seeing the offending images, let me first me first try to disabuse you of your curiosity, but if that doesn't work, here you go.
Bernabé appears to have no regrets about posting the photos, even after it cost him his job: "My conscience is fine, I only publicized this 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 don't understand what my photo has to do with pornography."
He went on to expand on his reasons for the surgery, which are best summarized by I love to fuck.
Everyone loves sex. I don't drink, don't smoke, and don't do drugs, but I like sex, like all men, and men always try to have better sexual capabilities. I'm a very active man, and I live with a partner, but I go out with other women. My partner knows about it because she understands that, to me, sex is a necessity, she has a very open mind. I'd like to have sex one or two times a day.
Lest Bernabé come off as a quirky-yet-harmless sex enthusiast, you should know that he was previously suspended by Lazio in 2021 for chanting "duce, duce!" ("leader, leader!") in honor of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini with a group of fans after a victory over Inter Milan. He was also caught on tape doing a fascist salute. At the time of his suspension, Bernabé not only admitted to the chants, but went above and beyond, praising both Mussolini and former Spanish strongman Francisco Franco, saying he "admires" both of them and that's he is proud of it.
Bernabé eventually returned to the club after the fascist dustup (they don't call the club Nazio for nothing!), but the penis photos were a bridge too far, it seems. In his interview with Radio24, Bernabé spoke of his time at Lazio fondly, saying "To be part of Lazio? An honor in every way, it made me feel more masculine. As for Mussolini? I admire him very much."
It's like they always say: You take the good with the bad, and the prosthetic penis with the dickhead.
