Roberto de Zerbi: Spurs fans’ anger grows over Italian’s appointment

It is not the first time Tottenham have faced major opposition to a managerial appointment.

In June 2021, following the departure of Jose Mourinho, Spurs were linked with Gennaro Gattuso.

Some fans on social media referenced controversial comments the former Italy midfielder had previously made on subjects such as same sex marriage, external, and women in football.

A #NoToGattuso hashtag began trending on Twitter, and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust raised the issue with the club.

Tottenham backed away and said Gattuso was not being considered as a candidate.

There are parallels with De Zerbi.

Trust secretary Tristan Foot told BBC Sport that it had taken on board complaints from supporters about the Italian and had been in touch with the club.

“We had an emergency meeting last night,” Foot said. “That resulted in us writing to the chief executive and echoing those concerns and inviting them to reflect on the club’s values.”

Club sources told BBC Sport that De Zerbi’s comments on Greenwood had been considered as part of the process to appoint him and had formed part of discussions.

Women of the Lane is one of a number of official Spurs fans’ group to have voiced concerns across social media in recent days.

It was joined by Proud Lillywhites – the LGBTQI+ Supporters’ Association, and SpursREACH, which promotes the values of fans from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds.

Speechly, who helped to create Women of the Lane two years ago, said the appointment would bring into question the values and integrity of the club.

“The fact is that he hired him [Greenwood] as a player,” Speechly said.

“And then continue to publicly back him and support him, sympathise with him.

“For me, that’s just unforgivable. I think that speaks to the character of De Zerbi.

“I don’t want him anywhere near my football club.

“This is about how we feel, this is about values, this is about integrity and, ultimately, it’s about safety.

“It’s about women feeling that they are safe around other men.”

Speechly added that giving De Zerbi the manager’s job undermines the work done by the club to build relationships with minority groups.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Speechly added.

“In terms of my relationship with [the club] it’s massively impacted it.

“In all honesty I don’t have any intention now of going to the stadium if they do appoint De Zerbi.”

Foot said that the Trust held the same concerns about the club’s integrity.

“We think that our club should reassert values of equality and respect,” he added.

“This appointment, out of many that they could have made, seems to be the one that could fly in the face of that.

“We have told the club that if they go ahead with the appointment, that we will issue a formal statement reflecting the serious concerns we have.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been approached for comment.