President donates €230,000 towards fountain restoration after Barca victory dive

The Giallorossi owner was at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night to see his team pull off one of the greatest Champions League turnarounds of all-time, as Roma beat Barcelona 3-0 to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League for just the second time in the club’s history.

After congratulating the team, Pallotta went on to celebrate with fans in the city centre – capping off the celebrations by jumping in the Fontana dei Leoni in Rome’s famous Piazza del Popolo.

That earned him an automatic €450 city fine, and perhaps an awkward topic of conversation as he met with Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi the following morning.

But, after a successful meeting that saw both parties discuss a number of issues surrounding the club and the city, Pallotta announced that, as a gesture of goodwill and desire to help improve the city, he would be making a personal donation to support one of Roma’s restoration projects.

Pallotta will donate €230,000 towards the restoration of another of the city’s iconic fountains, the Fontana del Pantheon that sits just in front of one of Rome’s most famous landmarks.

The American hopes his gesture will act as both a warning and an encouragement to any fans thinking of following his example.

“I want to thank the Mayor for my well-deserved fountain fine,” Pallotta said. “I certainly got caught up the excitement, I think it was a great night for all of us in Rome.

“But I don’t want to encourage people to jump in a fountain – unless they are going to fix a fountain. I love this city. If someone does want to jump in one, then fix the fountain [too].”