The famous mascot and trainer of the OGC Nice eagle struck down by a sprinkler

There are few mascots in world football as instantly recognizable as Mefi – the eagle of OGC Nice, which takes up the club crest and makes a spectacular flight around the Allianz Riviera before kick-off.

The show was once again there before the Nice match Europa League against AS Roma on Thursday, but what was supposed to be a display of power and pride quickly turned into a far more comical scene.

As Mefi walked towards his trainer, who was about to offer him a treat, one of the field sprinklers suddenly came to full blast. Both the bird and its trainer were instantly soaked, the jets shooting with such force that the trainer had to scramble to get out his soaked in-ear headphones.

For a split second he looked completely baffled, before smiling and giving the crowd a reassuring thumbs up. Remarkably, Mefi herself seemed unbothered by the sudden soaking, continuing her routine with aplomb – although one can assume the eagle didn’t appreciate the poorly timed shower.

The mishap caused a lot of laughter, but on Franck Haise’s side, the evening went downhill from there. Nice slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Roma, watched by owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – whose INEOS Group also owns Manchester United.

Just as Mefi’s pre-match plan went awry, so did Nice’s, leaving the home fans drenched in disappointment rather than celebration.

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