Roma president James Pallotta has pledged €230,000 to repair a fountain in front of the Pantheon in Rome after being fined for diving into another following his club's win over Barcelona on Tuesday night.
Surrounded by a crowd of flag-waving Roma fans, Pallotta fell backward into a fountain in the Piazza del Popolo.
He received a statutory fine of €450 for wading into the historic fountain the morning after, but he was only too happy to pay up after his side's historic Champions League semifinal qualification -- and he even went further than just settling the fine.
"We spoke and he apologised," Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi said. "He did it in a moment of excitement but he realises the importance of the example he needs to provide. And clearly he'll pay the fine."
00:00: #ASRoma President Pallotta celebrates 3-0 win by jumping in Piazza del Popolo fountain.
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 11, 2018
09:00: Pallotta fined €450 for jumping in fountain.
15:00: Pallotta apologises, pays fine & donates €230,000 to fix fountain in front of Pantheon.
Don't jump in fountains kids! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/IBHwylgw82
Pallotta spoke with Raggi on Wednesday at a previously scheduled meeting to discuss progress in the club's bid to build a new stadium inspired by the Colosseum, and the pair met the media after with Pallotta announcing his charitable donation.
"I want to thank the mayor for my well-deserved fountain fine of €450," he said. "I certainly got caught up in the excitement. I think it was a great night for all of us in Rome, but I also don't want to encourage other people to jump into fountains -- except if they want to fix the fountain!
"So I've decided that I think it would be a great personal gesture to fix the fountain in front of the Pantheon and so I'm going to donate €230,000 to it. I try not to encourage people -- I love this city, and if somebody does want to jump in it, fix the fountain."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.