11 March 2024 , 11:00
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Lecce have sacked manager Roberto D'Aversa after he headbutted a Hellas Verona player in the aftermath of a damaging defeat on Sunday.
D'Aversa lashed out at Verona striker Thomas Henry after his side suffered a 1-0 loss in Serie A. Michael Folorunsho's 17th-minute goal saw the visitors leapfrog Lecce into 13th place and tempers flared after the final whistle.
Both D’Aversa and Henry were shown red cards for their parts in the melee and the Lecce boss has now been relieved of his duties. In a statement, the club said: “After the events that occurred at the end of the Lecce-Verona match, US Lecce announces that it has relieved coach D'Aversa of his duties. Thanks go to the coach and his staff for the work done.”
D’Aversa had been in charge of Lecce since June, winning just six of his 30 matches at the helm. Lecce are 15th, just one point above the relegation zone after a miserable run which has seen them win just one of their last 12 in the league.
The 48-year-old former midfielder had apologised for his behaviour after the match, claiming he initially acted to try and protect his players. "There was an excited finale, already in the last minutes of the match where there were some provocations. My initial intent was not to cause damage to my players, I didn't want my boys to get disqualifications," D'Aversa told Sky Italia.
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"Then Henry and I came into contact, the gesture wasn't nice to see, my intention was to divide everyone, but he continued to provoke. We spoke to the managers and that was it. I certainly didn't enter the field to headbutt a player and it was nothing premeditated.
Roberto D'Aversa headbutted Thomas Henry (Sky Sports Italia)"Otherwise I would have said so. Looking back at the images they say one thing, I say that they are the consequence of a series of provocations at the end of the match. I've already spoken to the Verona managers. I apologise for the gesture, it's not nice to see."
Verona striker Henry also tried to explain his part in the unsavoury scenes. "I'll start by saying that I want to apologise to my teammates and to the fans. I apologise for having reacted, with words, to the many provocations experienced on the pitch today, an understandable fact in a match with such a stake," he wrote on Instagram.
Roberto D'Aversa has been sacked by Lecce (Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)"But this does not and will never justify a headbutt when you've already made your way to the locker room, happy with the three points earned. I have known Gendrey for 15 years, I was his coach when he was 15.
"I would never dare to provoke someone who today I consider a brother! And having received the red light as a reaction, always and only verbal, to a header, leaves me even more saddened by not being able to help my teammates from next Sunday."
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