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The crazed fan who stripped himself naked in the stadium during the penalty shootouts in the UEFA Euro 2012 quarter-final match involving England and Italy has been identified as a millionaire businessman.
Defending his action, Tim O’Leary, 35, said he exposed his manhood in a bid to distract Italy’s winning penalty taker.
“I was just trying to do my bit,” he said in an interview with The Sun newspaper. “It was a spur of the moment thing. I’d do anything to see England win — but sadly it didn’t work.”
O’Leary, who was dressed in an England goalie’s kit and wig, had stripped himself naked while standing behind Joe Hart’s goal — in a bid to make Diamanti fluff his shot.
He revealed that he had to sprint from the other end of the ground to get in place for the climactic shoot-out that saw England eliminated.
His words: “I nearly had a heart attack running from the England end down to that end. I ran because I knew we were going to lose and I wanted to try and put the guy off. I did it wearing shin pads, football boots, you name it. The blisters on my feet are absolutely killing.”
On how his wife Klara reacted to his stunt, O’Leary said: “She’s eight months pregnant with twins. She finds it very, very funny.”
The man who lives in a £6million Surrey home near England’s John Terry, owns a city trading company and he’s spent a fortune following the Three Lions.
He cheered them on at Euro 2004 in Portugal and the last two World Cups in Germany and South Africa.
After overcoming England on Monday, Italy last night pulled off a bigger feat by beating favourites Germany 2-1 in yesterday’s semi-final clash to set up a final showdown with defending champions Spain on Sunday.