Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi has accused Tottenham head coach Cristian Stellini of disrespecting him after a fiery game on Sunday. After people from the two benches clashed on the touchline around the hour mark in Spurs’ 2-1 win against the Seagulls in north London on Saturday, both coaches were issued red cards. Tensions were high between De Zerbi and Stellini before the game, with the Brighton manager appearing to angrily confront the Tottenham temporary manager at the pre-match handshake. Stellini’s statements in midweek that the 43-year-old had just carried on the good work of his predecessor Graham Potter are understood to have irritated De Zerbi.
“I’m used to constantly respecting everyone on and off the pitch,” Roberto De Zerbi said about Cristian Stellini. “It bothers me when people do not respect me. However, there are routine scenarios in football. It’s all about you. I always have a high regard for everyone, especially the coaches. I can only speak for myself, not for him. Yes. It’s a private matter. I told him what I thought, my idea, not terrible words, just my viewpoint.”
Brighton were denied three times by the Video Assistant Referee as they suffered a setback in their bid for Champions League football, falling 10 points behind fourth place with a game in hand. Spurs, meanwhile, have cut the gap on Manchester United in fourth place to three points after playing one more game than their rivals, and Stellini believes his team was due for some luck with VAR.
“This is the first time this season that we have been fortunate with the VAR. We must cherish this moment since we have been unlucky with VAR on numerous occasions. It happened to us once,” Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi said. “Many times, we respected VAR rulings. Everyone must now respect it. We agreed to their hostility. We were not as assertive. We were quiet and solely concentrated on the game. I don’t want to talk about it. I’d like to talk about the game. We finished well, fought hard, and did not concede the goal.”
For more football news, click here
