The morgue attendant who took a selfie with Diego Maradona’s open coffin has begged family and fans for forgiveness after the photo sparked outrage among social media users.
The man identified as Claudio Fernandez confirmed to Radio 10 on Friday that he had lost his job at the Pinier funeral home following the incident.
Fernández and his 18-year-old son Ismael Claudio, gave a thumbs-up gesture and smiled as he posed for a photograph next to the funeral casket with Maradona’s face being seen in the photos.
“I apologise to everyone,” said Claudio Fernández.
“We were waiting before taking him [Maradona], and my son, like every kid, raised his thumb and they took the photo,” Fernández said.
The man who has since lost his job revealed that he has also received death threats after the photographs went viral.
“I received threats. I am from the neighbourhood, everyone knows me. They say they are going to kill me, they are going to break the car, they threaten my children and I am not that type of person,” he explained.
“I never thought they would publish it, that they would pass it on to a group or make it viral. I apologize to the Maradona family.’’
The soccer legend succumbed to heart failure on and was laid to rest on Thursday.
Maradona who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup battled health problems after retirement including obesity and drug abuse. The soccer legend had also undergone head surgery for a subdural hematoma weeks ago.
His funeral was a huge fanfare marked with high emotions as thousands of people crowded the streets around the Buenos Aires when his body was taken for burial.
