Roberto D’Aversa, the coach of Lecce, was fired on Monday for allegedly headbutting a player.
The incident took place following Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to fellow struggling team Hellas Verona.
After the final whistle, Verona striker Thomas Henry was arguing with Lecce defender Marin Pongracic. D’Aversa went over to intercede, but instead of helping, he ended up headbutting Henry right in front of a match official.
The Serie A team released a statement saying, “Lecce announces that it has removed coach Roberto D’Aversa of his duties after what happened at the end of the Lecce-Verona match.” “We appreciate the work done by the coach and his crew.”
Although D’Aversa later apologized and stated on Instagram that it wasn’t a headbutt, replays seemed to indicate that it was.
D’Aversa and Henry were dismissed as well.
Having coached Parma and Sampdoria in the past, 48-year-old D’Aversa has been in command of Lecce since June. Lecce is now one point above the relegation zone after having had a stellar start to the season, going undefeated after five games.
