Coach loses his temper and brings down opponent with a headbutt

Lecce coach Roberto D’Aversa lost control of his emotions in the bitter clash between the teams in the relegation battle. At the end of the game, there was an incident with Verona striker Thomas Henry, who was knocked to the ground by D’Aversa. In retrospect, the coach expressed regret for his behavior, while the club took a clear stance on the matter.

An emotional scene occurred after Hellas Verona’s 1-0 win over relegation-threatened US Lecce when Lecce coach Roberto D’Aversa got into an altercation with Verona striker Thomas Henry and headbutted him, causing Henry to go down. “I have to admit that this was not a glorious moment. It’s unforgivable and I’ve apologized to Verona for it,” D’Aversa later admitted on Sky Italia. His intention had been to protect his players from a possible sending off in the heat of the moment, but he himself saw red from the referee, as did Henry.

Lecce released a statement condemning their coach’s behavior in the strongest terms, saying it “goes against our principles and the values of sport”. D’Aversa also expressed regret to the striker himself, but Henry replied: “Nothing can and will ever justify a headbutt you receive while you’re happy to be on your way to the dressing room and have taken the three points. It’s very disappointing that I got a red card for a verbal reaction to a headbutt.”

Michael Folorunsho scored early for Verona in the 17th minute, although his long-range shot was not perfectly placed; an unfortunate deflection left goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone with no chance. Folorunsho’s goal was the only goal of the game. The win allowed Verona to overtake Lecce in the table, but both teams are still very close to the relegation places.