It has been proven that being a footballer goes beyond playing on the pitch as many footballers play a big role in the society off the pitch, Inter Milan football star Antonio Candreva has stepped in to pay school meal fees for a girl from a poor immigrant family who was given tuna and crackers instead of the normal lunch at a primary school near Verona.

“I’m ready to help the parents pay the canteen,” Candreva told the mayor of Minerbe, Andrea Girardi who said the girl’s reduced meal of tuna and crackers was simply a gesture of “correctness towards the families who pay the [canteen] fee regularly”.

Reports say other children ate pasta and a second dish, while the girl just had tinned tuna and crackers, and she was moved to tears when she was given the reduced lunch.

The story went viral on Italian social media and it emerged that other children from poor immigrant families faced a similar predicament at the school.

Antonio Candreva has made over 17 appearances scoring 3 goals this season.