Roberto De Zerbi was appointed as Tottenham’s third manager of the season on Tuesday, in a desperate bid by the English top club to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The appointment comes amid criticism from fan groups over the Italian manager’s past support for players who have been indicted (but not found guilty). crime This includes attempted rape.
Tottenham, current Europa League champions and regulars in England’s first division since 1978, sit one point above the Premier League’s relegation zone with seven games in hand.
De Zerbi replaced Igor Tudor. was fired He took over on Sunday after 44 days as interim coach. De Zerbi left Marseille in February and was previously manager of Brighton in the Premier League.
During his time at Marseille, De Zerbi coached former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood. Mason Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with attempted rape, controlling/coercive conduct and assault after images and videos were posted online.
british prosecutor the charges were dropped He will be indicted in February 2023 on “a combination of key witness recantations” and “no realistic prospect of conviction.”
Mr De Zerbi said Mr Greenwood was a “good man” who had “paid a heavy price for what happened”.
Women of the Lane, the club’s female supporters group, questioned De Zerbi’s “judgement and leadership” after he “publicly defended Mason Greenwood in a way that downplayed the seriousness of male violence against women and girls”, saying it was “not the kind of appointment Tottenham Hotspur should have made”.
Tottenham’s LGBTQI supporters group, the Proud Lilywhites, also opposed De Zerbi’s arrival. The paper said that the decision to appoint a coach is “not just about results or style of football. It’s about values, identity and the kind of person you choose to represent you.”
“For someone in such a position to publicly defend a player like Mason Greenwood and create a framework that downplays the seriousness of what happened is important not just for the isolated circumstances, but for what it represents,” the group said.
Spurs Reach, the club’s official racial, ethnic and cultural heritage fans’ body, said Mr De Zerbi’s “public comments defending and contextualizing” Mason Greenwood “risk normalizing harmful attitudes, diminishing the experience of survivors and sending a very worrying message about what is acceptable in the game”.
Tottenham are in dire straits
De Zerbi, who is known for playing an aggressive, high-risk and complex style of football, was also a bold appointment by Tottenham as they look to stake out their top-flight status.
He is highly regarded as a tactician, having a great spell at Sassuolo in Italy and then at Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, where he left in 2022 following the Russian invasion, but he is known to have an incombustible edge.
De Zerbi takes over one of England’s biggest clubs and this season they reached the round of 16 of the Champions League, but lost in two games to Atletico Madrid.
However, Tottenham’s form in the Premier League over the past two seasons has been terrible. Spurs finished 17th in the 2024-25 season, one place above the relegation zone, partly due to their focus on the Europa League as they raced towards the title.
Tottenham are without a win in the league this season, losing 3-0 at home to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest before the international break.
Thomas Frank started the season as Tottenham manager before taking over was fired Tudor, who replaced him, lasted only seven games, losing five of them, and lost his job on Sunday, ending his playing career. nightmarish I’ve been in charge for a month and a half.
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