WATCH: Serie A game boils over as coach headbutts striker in extraordinary scenes
There were ugly scenes in Serie A on Sunday as a coach appeared to headbutt a striker after a match between Lecce and Verona
There were extraordinary scenes in Italy's Serie A on Sunday as Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa appeared to headbutt Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry following an ill-tempered clash at the Stadio Via del mare.
After the match, which Verona won 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from midfielder Michael Folorunsho, Henry was arguing with Lecce defender Marin Pongracic and both players were booked.
D'Aversa looked to be ready to intervene but instead planted a headbutt on the French forward.
"Next Saturday we have another big match [against Salernitana] and I didn't want my players to be banned," D'Aversa told reporters after the game.
"So I went out to try and separate them from the opponents and then the incident with Henry happened."
And he added: "I have already apologised to Verona's management. As a coach and father of three kids, I want to apologise for what happened."
Lecce’s coach Roberto D’Aversa head butted Verona’s striker Thomas Henry.There was a lot of commotion, pushing and shoving at the end of the Lecce-Verona game, and now we know why. pic.twitter.com/GbdPDOpw8PMarch 10, 2024
Both D'Aversa and Henry were sent off and having hoped to save one of his players from a suspension, the Lecce coach is now set for a ban himself.
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Lecce are currently 15th in Serie A, just a point above the relegation zone with 10 rounds remaining in the competition.
Verona's win takes them up to 13th, but they are only two points above 18th-placed Frosinone.
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.