Roberto De Zerbi reveals two reasons why he was annoyed with Cristian Stellini last week when both coaches were sent off during Tottenham-Brighton.
De Zerbi and Stellini saw red during their latest meeting in North London on April 8. They started arguing even before kick-off and were eventually sent off in the second half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I don’t like the method of sending messages through press conferences. I told him so, very politely, before the game, with no threatening or aggressive tones,” RDZ told Sky Sport Italia, explaining why he was annoyed with his compatriot.
“After that, if those on the bench start putting pressure on the referee, I get annoyed and I highlighted this a little more firmly.
“He [Stellini] knows why I was annoyed, but I don’t want to talk about it again. I think he understood because I told him. I am not stupid. If I do certain things I have reasons for it.”
Before the match, Stellini said that De Zerbi had done a great job at Brighton, although he could benefit from what Graham Potter had previously done at the club. According to Il Corriere della Sera, this is one of the ‘messages’ De Zerbi was unhappy with.
The Italian paper had already reported earlier this week that RDZ was also annoyed by Tottenham’s protests against the referee.
Stellini, who has remained in charge of the North Londoners after Antonio Conte’s sacking in March, also gave his version during an interview with Sky Sport.
“Nothing special happened, there have been a lot of talks, but I don’t think we should continue discussing it. It was probably a misunderstanding.”