The family of an 11-year old boy from Northern Ireland have had to turn down an invitation from the Greek Football Federation to fly to Brazil to watch Greece take on Costa Rica.
Jay Beatty – who has Down’s syndrome – is a Celtic fan who was carried around the pitch by the Greece striker Georgios Samaras during the Scottish club’s end-of-season lap of honour.
Following Samaras’s last-minute penalty against Ivory Coast to send Greece through to the second round of the World Cup, a video of Jay celebrating went viral on the internet after being posted by his father.
Afterwards, Samaras thanked Jay for his “strength and support”, adding: “I want to say that I’m very, very proud that you’re my friend.”
The video led to a Greece supporter’s Facebook page calling for Jay to be flown out to the Costa Rica game and, after it attracted over 80,000 likes, the Greek FA offered to pay for the trip. But Jay’s family were forced to turn them down as they already had a holiday to the United States booked.
“This morning we got a call with a fantastic offer for us all to go to the World Cup to see the Greece game and Jay’s hero, Samaras,” said Jay’s father Martin. “Unfortunately, we were actually at the airport heading off on our family holiday when we got the call. So naturally we were unable to take up the offer and are so gutted, but truly grateful that people would do this for Jay.”
Martin did however post a video message on Facebook from Jay to his hero, saying: “Sammy, I’m sorry I won’t be there but I still love you very much and hope you win. Come on Sammy!”
