SERIE A side Cagliari suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Napoli, and paid a grovelling apology to fans.
The club, based in southern Italy, currently sit second bottom of the table following their thrashing by Antonio Conte’s side.
Goals from Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku and Alessandro Buongiorno compounded them to a four-goal walloping in front of their own supporters.
Following the game, the players walked over to the home crowd to apologise and listen to the fans as they scolded them.
While it is a tradition in Serie A for the home side to apologise to fans following a defeat, the players were joined by the club’s flamingo mascot “Pully”, who could be seen standing behind the team.
Social media users were left in disbelief at the mascot joining the club, with one user saying: “Nah the mascot had a POTM performance.”
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
A second said: “No one is safe.”
A third added: “Sometimes, even mascots feel the pressure.”
Another said: “When even the mascot gets scolded, you know it’s serious.”
A fifth said: “Cagliari’s 9-foot flamingo mascot ‘Pully’ getting ripped into after losing 4-0 to Napoli is making me lose my s***.”
Most read in Football
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
Reacting on social media after the game, midfielder Gianluca Gaetano said on Instagram: “It’s hard to explain a 0-4. It’s hard to explain that we deserved more.
“We know we have to improve. We know where our path will be.”
Former Everton star Yerry Mina added: “A difficult and complicated match, but this team is strong and we will continue to work hard to achieve positive results in what lies ahead.”
Manager Davide Nicola, told reporters: “If you see the result you think that Cagliari did nothing, but that’s not the case.
“For 65 minutes – he adds – we played a good game, the 0-2 goal came after many of our chances.
“Then it’s obvious that everything becomes more difficult, you have to continue to create but maintaining balance.
“On one hand I’m very satisfied, because I see that the team is starting to do what we train. But we have to reduce the lapses in concentration and be more practical.
“I don’t want us to get discouraged, we have to recover and defend with courage.”
The Rossoblu play Empoli in their next match.
Who is Pully?
Cagliari’s mascot Pully joined the players as they apologised to fans following a 4-0 home defeat to Napoli, but who are they?
The name Pully, which derives from pullo, as small birds are called, was chosen by the children of the Typhus School.
The flamingo has always been a symbolic figure of the city of Cagliari, loved by locals and tourists, an elegant and frequent presence in our skies, particularly during the summer.
Pull is an enblem of freedom and balance between urban spirit and wild nature.
The mascot stands at nine feet tall.
Merchandise for Pully, including pencils, puzzles, t-shirts and mugs, can be brought from the club store from €2.20.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
