<p>Lecce have fired manager Roberto D'Aversa after he headbutted an opposing player at the end of their loss to Hellas Verona at the weekend, the Serie A club said on Monday. D'Aversa headbutted Verona striker Thomas Henry in the aftermath of their 1-0 home defeat on Sunday, and the club released a statement later that day condemning the incident, and have now dismissed the 48-year-old.</p>

<p>"After the events that took place at the end of the Lecce - Verona match, U.S. Lecce announces that it has relieved coach Roberto D'Aversa of his duties," the club said in a statement. D'Aversa was shown the red card along with Henry, and afterwards the manager, who joined Lecce in June 2023, apologised while saying his players had been continually provoked towards the end of the game.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/chelsea-boss-mauricio-pochettino-hints-at-his-future-as-blues-continue-to-struggle-698980">Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hints at his future as Blues continue to struggle</a></strong></p>

<p>Lecce won five of their 28 league games this season which leaves them in 15th place on 25 points, one point above the relegation zone, while Verona overtook them with their win to move to 13th on 26 points.</p>


Lecce have fired manager Roberto D'Aversa after he headbutted an opposing player at the end of their loss to Hellas Verona at the weekend, the Serie A club said on Monday.

Lecce have fired manager Roberto D'Aversa after he headbutted an opposing player at the end of their loss to Hellas Verona at the weekend, the Serie A club said on Monday. D'Aversa headbutted Verona striker Thomas Henry in the aftermath of their 1-0 home defeat on Sunday, and the club released a statement later that day condemning the incident, and have now dismissed the 48-year-old. "After the events that took place at the end of the Lecce - Verona match, U.S. Lecce announces that it has relieved coach Roberto D'Aversa of his duties," the club said in a statement. D'Aversa was shown the red card along with Henry, and afterwards the manager, who joined Lecce in June 2023, apologised while saying his players had been continually provoked towards the end of the game. Also read: Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hints at his future as Blues continue to struggle Lecce won five of their 28 league games this season which leaves them in 15th place on 25 points, one point above the relegation zone, while Verona overtook them with their win to move to 13th on 26 points.

Lecce sack manager Roberto D'Aversa over headbutting incident

<p>World Cup winning defender with France Samuel Umtiti along with his Lecce teammate Lameck Banda were attacked with racial abuse from the travelling Lazio fans during the side’s home match in Serie A on Wednesday, December 4th. As reported by the Italian news agency Ansa, Lazio fans hurled racist insults at Banda during the first half and at Umtiti in the next.</p>

<p>It was during the second half when the referee stopped the game after the stadium announcers called for the abuse to stop. After the match, Umtiti was seen leaving the pitch in tears while receiving a standing ovation from the home fans.</p>

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<p>As quoted in Italian newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport -&nbsp;Lecce president, Saverio Sticchi Damiani even commented on the matter, saying “He (Umtiti) wanted to respond on the pitch to the insults. He reacted like a true champion."</p>

<p>Even on the club’s twitter handle, it was written, “The racist insults were drowned out by the cheers of encouragement for our champion!" along with the hashtag - #KeepRacismOut</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="it">𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒛𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑰 𝒅𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊 𝒅'𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐! 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒆 <a href="https://twitter.com/samumtiti?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samumtiti</a> !<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeepRacismOut?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeepRacismOut</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SerieA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SerieA</a> <a href="https://t.co/wqGWCOGDQ7">pic.twitter.com/wqGWCOGDQ7</a></p>
— U.S. Lecce (@OfficialUSLecce) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialUSLecce/status/1610722747130191874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>Samuel Umtiti, who is currently on loan at Lecce from Barcelona, even posted a picture on his Instagram handle saying, "Only football, fun, joy. The rest doesn't count."</p>

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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CnAaTlcLb1M/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Samuel Umtiti (@samumtiti)</a></p>
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<p>FIFA president Gianni Infantino also sent out a message in support of Umtiti and Banda by posting this on his Instagram handle, “Let’s shout it loud and clear: NO TO RACISM! May the huge majority of fans, who are good people, stand up to shut up all the racists once and for all!"</p>

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<p>Meanwhile, home team Lecce won the match against Lazio 2-1.</p>

<p>While Lazio is sitting in the fifth place with 30 points in 16 matches, Lecce is struggling in the other half of the table with just 18 points in 16 games played.</p>

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<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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World Cup winning defender with France Samuel Umtiti along with his Lecce teammate Lameck Banda were attacked with racial abuse from the travelling Lazio fans during the side’s home match in Serie A on Wednesday, December 4th.

World Cup winning defender with France Samuel Umtiti along with his Lecce teammate Lameck Banda were attacked with racial abuse from the travelling Lazio fans during the side’s home match in Serie A on Wednesday, December 4th. As reported by the Italian news agency Ansa, Lazio fans hurled racist insults at Banda during the first half and at Umtiti in the next. It was during the second half when the referee stopped the game after the stadium announcers called for the abuse to stop. After the match, Umtiti was seen leaving the pitch in tears while receiving a standing ovation from the home fans. ALSO READ: Serbian star Novak Djokovic survives Quentin Halys scare to reach Adelaide quarter-finals As quoted in Italian newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport - Lecce president, Saverio Sticchi Damiani even commented on the matter, saying “He (Umtiti) wanted to respond on the pitch to the insults. He reacted like a true champion." Even on the club’s twitter handle, it was written, “The racist insults were drowned out by the cheers of encouragement for our champion!" along with the hashtag - #KeepRacismOut 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒛𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑰 𝒅𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊 𝒅'𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐! 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒆 @samumtiti ! #KeepRacismOut @SerieA pic.twitter.com/wqGWCOGDQ7 — U.S. Lecce (@OfficialUSLecce) January 4, 2023 × Samuel Umtiti, who is currently on loan at Lecce from Barcelona, even posted a picture on his Instagram handle saying, "Only football, fun, joy. The rest doesn't count." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samuel Umtiti (@samumtiti) × FIFA president Gianni Infantino also sent out a message in support of Umtiti and Banda by posting this on his Instagram handle, “Let’s shout it loud and clear: NO TO RACISM! May the huge majority of fans, who are good people, stand up to shut up all the racists once and for all!" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gianni Infantino - FIFA President (@gianni_infantino) × Meanwhile, home team Lecce won the match against Lazio 2-1. While Lazio is sitting in the fifth place with 30 points in 16 matches, Lecce is struggling in the other half of the table with just 18 points in 16 games played. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Serie A: Defender Samuel Umtiti walks away in tears after racist abuse from Lazio fans, FIFA takes stand

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