Lazio’s Spanish eagle handler Juan Bernabé insists he is ‘right-wing, but not a fascist’ after he was suspended for making a fascist salute to fans.
The incident was filmed after the 3-1 Serie A victory over Inter at the Stadio Olimpico.
He had the eagle Olympia on one arm, while he repeatedly held the other up in a ‘Roman salute’ and shouted ‘Duce, Duce’, referencing Italy’s World War II fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
“I am sorry for what happened, in Spain the fascist gesture is a straight arm, but it seems in Italy it includes a slap to the chest,” Bernabé told Adnkronos news agency.
He tried to clarify his political leanings, although it did not answer many other questions raised by the clip.
“I am certainly right-wing, as I support the Vox party in Spain, just like many of my football player friends, but it’s not a fascist party, that really isn’t in my mentality.
“I am a man who travelled the world, who does business all over the world and has relationships with people of all races.
“The gesture was just an impulse celebrating the end of the game. It was a military salute, not a fascist one. In any case, these things happen in life, there are good and bad moments, and this for me is a bad one.”
L’ex falconiere della #Lazio prova a difendersi #Olympia https://t.co/XaoLHnj8dv
— CalcioNews24.com (@CalcioNews24) October 20, 2021
Only the best from SS Nazio
He should shout “Hail Hydra! ” out with the gesture then. lol
Seeioisly uefa gonna ban them if they dont fire this guy. You cant expose the public and fans to this its beyond insane beyond public relations nightmare.
I’m a Lazio supporter and this doesn’t bother me. Why should his personal beliefs and his interactions, with likeminded fans in this case, be a reason for firing?