Lecce fires Roberto D’Aversa after alleged ‘headbutt’ incident involving Hellas Verona forward Thomas Henry.

Roberto D’Aversa, the head coach of Lecce, has been sacked from his position after an incident involving a headbutt on Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry. Lecce suffered a 1-0 defeat against their Serie A relegation rivals, leaving them just one point above the bottom three.

At the conclusion of the match, D’Aversa approached Henry, who was engaged in a heated exchange with defender Marin Pongracic. However, in his attempt to intervene, the Italian accidentally knocked over the French forward in front of one of the match officials, resulting in red cards for both individuals.

D’Aversa expressed his apologies but denied any intention of headbutting Henry. He claimed that his aim was to diffuse the situation in order to prevent his players from receiving bans. Taking to social media, he stated, “I was wrong and I want to apologise. I got carried away and lost lucidness, but not to the point of hitting another person. This does not belong to me and I do not accept it. Once again, I apologise to Henry, to Lecce, Verona and Italian fans, to the referees, to the two clubs, to my management, my staff, and my team.”

In a brief statement, Lecce announced the dismissal of D’Aversa from his role, stating, “After what happened at the end of the Lecce-Verona match, Lecce announces that it has relieved Roberto D’Aversa of his duties. Thanks go to the coach and his staff for the work carried out.”

D’Aversa had taken charge of Lecce last summer, following his previous managerial spells at Parma and Sampdoria.