Tancredo Palmeri with Scottish soccer fan

Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri had to act fast when an excited Heart of Midlothian fan decided she really wanted to show off a tattoo in support of her favorite club on live television.

The Sports Italia reporter discussing the Italian transfer market from “Natasha from Edinburgh, Scotland” and her boyfriend approached him. The couple, who were visiting Milan, noted that while she is a Hearts fan, he supports Hibernian (a.k.a. Hibs). At the mention of their rival clubs, Natasha asked if she could show a tattoo she got to commemorate Hearts’ 5-1 victory over Hibs in the 2012 Scottish Cup final.

“No, no, no,” urged the boyfriend, who knew what was coming. Alas, Palmeri, not realizing what was about to happen, said “Yes we do.”

And so she did, reaching her hand into her shirt and appearing to pull her breast out in order to reveal the tattoo. That’s when the intrepid reporter jumped into action, quickly moving to block any NSFW reveals for the live audience while exclaiming “No-no-no-no-no!” to no avail. After showing off the tattoo, the crisis appeared to be over but, seconds later, she revealed the tattoo once more, sending Palmeri into another panic over what else she might show.

When Palmeri mentioned afterward that in his panic he forgot her name, she responded by saying “I totally understand. My boobs are real.”

“When a blondie heavy Hearts of Midlothian fan storms into your transfer window live hit and wants to show to whole Italy her pride against Hibernians from the bottom of her heart,” wrote Palmeri on Twitter. “I’d say from the bottom of her boobs.”

To her credit, Natasha also took to Twitter, noting that she “was only having a steak dinner and took it too far” and that she “heard the boys say Heart of Midlothian so ran over n well this is my consequence ahahaha.”

The lesson is, as always, to be prepared for anything when you’re doing a live report and sports fans are around.

[Tancredo Palmeri, The Sun]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.