Lecce coach Roberto D'Aversa headbutted Verona's French striker Thomas Henry after his team lost 1-0 on Sunday March 10 in the 28th day of the Italian championship. Incidents broke out at the final whistle, amid great confusion, with shoving between players and members of the management of the two teams.
As Henry, surrounded by teammates and club officials, appeared to be heading to the locker room, D’Aversa walked towards him and headbutted him. The Frenchman, who appeared to be injured in the right cheekbone, was then excluded by the referee from the match, as was the Lecce coach.
“I went on the pitch to prevent my players from being sent off, because there was a lot of provocation from the Verona players in the last minutes of the match and after the final whistle,” explained D’Aversa on the Sky Sport channel. “It’s not a nice gesture, I recognize it, it’s inexcusable, and I explained it to the people of Verona. But I did not enter the field to make this gesture,” he insisted. In a statement, Lecce “strongly condemned the gesture of [its] coach which is contrary to our principles and the values of sport”.
D'Aversa, 48, has been in charge of Lecce since June 2023, having previously coached Parma (2016-20) and Sampdoria Genoa (2021-22). With this defeat, the fourth in its last five matches, Lecce has fallen to 16th place and is only one point ahead of the 18th and first relegated side, Frosinone. Verona, who made it two wins for the first time since August, jumped to 13th place but are just two points ahead of 18th.
