Serie A club, Lecce, fired coach Roberto D’Aversa after he headbutted Verona striker, Thomas Henry. Lecce suffered a 0-1 defeat to Verona in the 2023-2024 Italian League at the Comunale Via del Mare Stadium, Sunday (10/3/2024). Meanwhile, Verona scored early in the first half through Michael Folorunsho and move the team up to 13th place, two points above the drop zone.
The tension in the match actually increased after the final whistle sounded when Thomas Henry clashed with Lecce defender, Marin Pongracic. Roberto D’Aversa also got involved and headbutted Henry. Both immediately received red cards from the referee.
Lecce stated that they strongly condemn Roberto D’Aversa’s actions which are contrary to the values of the club and sport. Through a statement on the club website on Monday (11/3/2024) morning, Lecce announced that they had fired Roberto D’Aversa.
“Following the incident that occurred at the end of the Lecce-Verona match, Lecce announced that coach Roberto D’Aversa has been relieved of his duties,” the club said in a statement. “We thank the coach and his staff for their hard work.”
Roberto D’Aversa previously said that his actions could not be forgiven even though he was only trying to defend his players from the opponent’s provocation. “I went onto the pitch to try to stop my player being sent off because Verona really provoked us in the last moments of the match and after the final whistle,” he said. “It wasn’t a nice thing to do, I know. It was unforgivable and I have explained my actions to Verona,” he said. “I didn’t enter the field to do that,” said Roberto D’Aversa.
“I was wrong and I apologize,” D’Aversa said further. “I got carried away and lost lucidness, but not to the point of hitting another person … Once again I apologize to Henry, to the Lecce, Verona and Italian fans, to the referees, to the two clubs, to my management, my staff and my team.”
The defeat against Verona saw Lecce drop to 15th in the Italian League standings, just one point above the relegation zone. Various reports in Italy say that D’Aversa will most likely remain broken up regardless of his actions after the Verona match.
Former Spezia coach, Leonardo Semplici, is one of the candidates to fill the seat of Lecce coach on a short-term contract considering that there are only 10 matches left in Serie A this season.
