A Roma fan who called into a radio station to say he was terminally ill and planning euthanasia on the day of the Europa League Final, moving coach Daniele De Rossi to make an appeal, has confessed it was all a lie.
The supporter called Edoardo rang in to Tele Radio Stereo this week and broke down in tears as he described his situation.
He said that he was dealing with a terminal illness and was planning a trip to Switzerland for euthanasia on May 22, the same day that the Europa League Final is played in Dublin.
Edoardo expressed his desire to see Roma win the trophy before leaving this world, an appeal that moved De Rossi, who even said during the official press conference for the quarter-final with Milan that he was trying to track down and contact this supporter.
Adnkronos did and found that there was very little truth in the entire confession.
Although his name is Edoardo and he does have an illness, it is not terminal and he was never planning euthanasia.
“We live in a society where if you are ill, you seemingly have to feel sorry for yourself. If you appear to laugh and joke, then it’s not true that you are suffering.
“If I made a mistake, it was saying my illness was ‘terminal,’ but I did correct myself. It’s not terminal, but it is chronic and incurable, I’ve been living with it for years and am forced to go abroad for experimental treatment. But I’m not going to Switzerland…”
So why did he call up the radio station in tears and spin this tale?
“I didn’t think it get this much attention. I did it because it made me laugh that, even in such a painful situation that I am in, my first thought was almost always about Roma.
“I joke all the time, it helps me get through. This is why the many friends who listened to the radio interview recognised my voice and thought I had gone mad. They wondered what I had been hiding.”