Roberto De Zerbi has apologised for his comments about Mason Greenwood in his first interview since being appointed Tottenham head coach.
De Zerbi was appointed by Spurs on a five-year deal, replacing Igor Tudor after his ill-fated 44 days answerable for the north London club.
The Italian arrives together with his recent side deep in a relegation battle and just one point outside of the Premier League’s bottom three.
De Zerbi impressed at Brighton before moving to Marseille, but his arrival at Tottenham received backlash from a number of the fanbase attributable to comments he made about Greenwood while in France.
The previous Manchester United forward was charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning bodily harm towards the identical woman in 2022.
Greenwood denied any wrongdoing, with the fees dropped in February 2023 before he was set to face trial.
The Englishman later moved to Marseille, where he worked under De Zerbi, with the Italian happening to explain Greenwood as a ‘good guy’ who had ‘paid a heavy price’.
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Addressing those comments on Thursday, De Zerbi said: ‘I actually have never desired to downplay the difficulty of violence against women, or violence against anyone more broadly.
‘In my life I actually have at all times stood up for many who are more vulnerable, more fragile.
‘I’ve consistently fought and brought a stand to be on the side of those that are most in danger.
‘Those of you who know me well, will know I’m not the style of one who makes compromises to win more games or to win an additional title.
What did Roberto De Zerbi say about Mason Greenwood?
After Marseille confirmed the signing of Greenwood, De Zerbi insisted the previous United attacker was a ‘good guy’.
He also suggested he was ‘saddened’ by how Greenwood had been represented by the press in his native England.
‘He’s a very good guy, he paid a heavy price for what happened, a really heavy price,’ De Zerbi said within the media when asked about Greenwood last November.
‘He has found the best environment for him. We have now lent him a hand and given him affection. He’s somewhat bit introverted but I do know him and his family.
‘It saddens me what happened in his life, because I do know a very different person than the one who was described in England.’
‘I’m sorry if this offended anyone’s feelings with this material – I actually have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to this stuff, and I at all times have been.
‘I hope that over time people will get to know me higher and can understand that at that moment I didn’t mean to take a stance.’
Looking forward to an important run of fixtures between now and the tip of the season, De Zerbi urged his side to play with ‘courage’ of their fight to avoid the drop.
‘I believe we have now to be focused just on the Sunderland game,’ he added. ‘I don’t need to speak concerning the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game.
‘Game by game, we have now to organize the players to win the sport and to be focused just on the sport.
‘We have now to play with courage. We have now to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accept this challenge, it’s because I actually have a giant confidence within the players and the kind of the history of Tottenham football is a really clear kind of play.’
The Italian also confirmed he wouldn’t walk away if his side were relegated, insisting: ‘I signed five years of contract because for me it’s a giant challenge and I might be the coach of Tottenham next season, irrespective of what.’
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