Lecce coach Roberto D’Aversa, who headbutted Hellas Verona’s French striker Thomas Henry on Sunday, has been sacked, the club announced on Monday on X (ex-Twitter).
“After the events that occurred at the end of the Lecce-Verona match, the club announces that it has sacked coach D’Aversa,” reads a brief statement on X.
Roberto D’Aversa headbutted Thomas Henry after the match lost by the Puglia team (1-0) on Sunday during the 28th day of the Italian Championship.
Incidents broke out in the greatest confusion with shoving between players and management of the two teams at the final whistle.
As Henry appeared to be heading to the locker room, D’Aversa walked up to him and headbutted him. Both men were then shown a red card.
“I went on the pitch to prevent my players from being sent off, because there was a lot of provocation from the Verona players in the last minutes of the match and after the final whistle,” explained D’Aversa subsequently to the Sky Sport channel.
The Lecce coach, in office since June 2023, then apologized in a message on social networks to Henry, Verona, its leaders, Lecce supporters and Italian football.
He denied having headbutted Henry, assuring that “it was physical contact, head to head”.
Henry also published a message on his social networks in which he claimed to have received a headbutt: “Nothing justified and will never justify receiving a headbutt when you are on the way to the locker room, happy to have pocketed the three points of victory,” said the 29-year-old.
In a press release published immediately, Lecce had “firmly condemned the gesture of (its) coach which is contrary to our principles and the values of sport”.