A Matchday Steward, Matteo Lo Cicero has been suspended by AS Roma for speaking and taking a selfie with his idol, Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen.
The off-the-pitch incident took place on Sunday evening in the post-match between AS Roma and Napoli which ended in favour of the Naples side at the Stadio Olimpico.
Recall that Osimhen was the hero of the game, after taking advantage of sloppy defending from Chris Smalling to score from an acute angle.
According to Calciomercato, 18-year-old Matteo, from Ethiopia and Napoli fan was relieved of his duties for meeting Osinhem, and the Nigerian striker vowed to get him another job.
Oma Akatugba, a Nigerian and UEFA Accredited Sports Journalist based in Germany confirmed the incident after he shared these tweets.
His tweet read: “So while waiting for Victor after the match at this location where only friends, family and close confidants and agents are allowed to access, I saw this lad who worked as one of the stewards. He asked who I was waiting for, I said Victor Osimhen. He said oh, he is my idol.
“He quickly opened his phone to show me all Victor’s pictures on his phone and how he always posts about Victor. So he asked me to make his dream come true which was to meet and take a picture with Victor. I told him sure I will take you to Victor. Perhaps to say thank you.
“He asked for a selfie and I obliged him. After the selfies, he asked for my IG handle so he could tag me. When he saw my name, he went ‘oh, you are Oma!! I know you.’ I follow you already.
“Victor came, I introduced him to his idol and Victor asked him to sit with him and talk. The dude was shaking as he couldn’t believe what was happening. He said his dream had come true he didn’t know he would ever have the chance to sit with the striker.
“And afterwards, a lady who happens to be like a manager of the stewards came and asked the lad to pull off his vest and hand it to her and leave. Perhaps he had circumvented the rules by having to sit down with a player during work. To my surprise, Victor intervened and told the lady.
“He called him and she should not take relieve him of his duties. Because of language issues, we couldn’t sort it out and Victor asked the boy how much they pay him, he mentioned it and Victor told him someone would reach out soon. The lad said meeting Victor was enough for him, that he didn’t care if they sacked him. He was joyous despite losing what looks like a part-time job for him.”
