Tottenham travel to Sunderland on Sunday to play their first game under their new manager, Roberto De Zerbi.
His first training session, filmed and posted online, has been pored over as desperate fans look for signs that the club, in 17th position in the Premier League and only one point above the relegation zone, will make immediate progress under the Italian. Players, we’re told, provided glowing reports. Many fans are as upbeat as they have been all season.
But others cannot shake their sense of discomfort at the appointment of De Zerbi, the manager who was in charge when Marseille signed Mason Greenwood from Manchester United in July 2024, restored the forward to a prominent first-team position and frequently backed him during their two seasons together.
Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and did not play for Manchester United again. He resumed his career away from Old Trafford, first on loan at Getafe, then at Marseille, after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) discontinued the case against him for attempted rape, assault and coercive control. The CPS said “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”. Greenwood denied all the allegations against him.
Why does it matter who De Zerbi signs and backs elsewhere, especially since the Greenwood charges were dropped?
Significant judgment calls are important because a Premier League coach is not some faceless operator. He is the club’s public representative — the face of Spurs. And the board have decided that not only is De Zerbi a suitable figurehead for the next crucial months, but for the next five years.
As one of the 10 richest football clubs on the planet, Tottenham Hotspur, despite their on-field woes, have an outsized opportunity to shape fan culture. They recognised publicly last month that Spurs’ internal culture “requires improvement in a number of areas”. Your leader has to set the tone.
When an appointment like this triggers ‘banter’ in relation to the multiple charges of rape against the former Arsenal player Thomas Partey (charges Partey has denied), you know the concerns raised by fan groups such as Proud Lilywhites and Spurs REACH are legitimate.
Football is a place of escapism. Every football fan has at some point had to choose blindness to the nastier realities of their heroes’ moral codes. One of my favourite players is Paul Gascoigne, a man with a conviction for assault and the subject of a memoir by his former wife Sheryl, subtitled ‘My Life Surviving Gazza’.
I often wonder if I am letting myself off the hook by retaining that awe of Gascoigne, a product of watching and hearing about him in my earliest childhood — long before I could understand topics like these. How much better would it be if there was no need for wilful ignorance, for the suspension of morality? We can and must move towards zero tolerance on this.
People I know and care about in the Spurs community have called, emailed, and direct-messaged me on social media about how much they’re struggling with De Zerbi’s appointment. Ali Speechly, who co-founded Women of the Lane, has spoken out beautifully about her intention to stay away until he leaves.
She says her position is not just theoretical, since his words indicate what Spurs will get as a head coach too: “I do not wish to separate the coach from his attitudes because, in my experience, a person’s values are also a key indicator as to how they will train, manage and lead players.”
Her point is a brilliant one because it emphasises that she understands our fans’ yearning for a saviour, but explains that he is not it.
Certain people will always be hit harder by conversations like these.
One in four women in the UK has been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult. Football fans are not distinct from that group. If you’re reading this on your phone in a public place, look up: you’re almost certainly looking at someone who’s been forced to deal not only with a harrowing violation of human boundaries, but also with managing that for the rest of her life.
Roberto De Zerbi has not inflicted this wrong. But look at the way he repeatedly praised Greenwood during their time at Marseille, and the role he played in bringing the forward to the club. Upon signing, Greenwood said De Zerbi had a huge influence on him moving to the Ligue 1 side.
In his very first interview for Tottenham, he was asked to address this. This was a good step — as was his choice to answer in Italian “because I want to be clear” — indicating he was taking the question seriously. He came across on video in a kindly and empathetic way.
For an apology to provide catharsis, it needs to recognise the hurt caused, express contrition, and show how you won’t let it happen again. Let’s examine his words with that in mind.
He began: “I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone more broadly.” Seems like a good start, but it has already lost its way. Why add “or violence against anyone more broadly”? Nobody is accusing him of that. But the phrase plays to all comers. All Lives Matter.
What followed appears comforting but raises more questions than it answers.
“In my life, I have always stood up for those who are more vulnerable, more fragile. I’ve consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are most at risk. Those of you who know me well will know that I am not the kind of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title.”
The first two sentences are statements of character presented with little evidence. After fairly serious digging online, I couldn’t find any public examples of De Zerbi personally standing up for women’s rights.
De Zerbi’s Sassuolo teams were part of Serie A’s league-wide campaign with charity WeWorld about violence against women and girls, which was launched in 2018. For one round of fixtures each season, many players and staff at Serie A clubs paint red marks on their faces to draw attention to the issue.
When contacted by The Athletic, Tottenham said there were several public and private examples of De Zerbi going above and beyond his coaching roles to support those who are vulnerable, but did not provide any.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust called on De Zerbi to show “visible and sustained support for women’s charities and organisations working to combat violence against women”. This would have been a perfect moment to announce a partnership with or donation to Women’s Aid, say, particularly given that his appointment at Tottenham has enriched him beyond nearly all supporters’ wildest dreams.
There have not yet been discussions at Tottenham about any partnership or donation.
De Zerbi concludes with non-apology bingo.
“I am sorry if I offended anyone’s feelings with this subject matter — I have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to these things, and I always have been. I hope that, over time, people will get to know me better and will understand that, at that moment, I didn’t mean to take a stance.”
When did you last feel better after someone told you they were sorry if you felt offended? Having bred a woman, met one, or been born to one provides no evidence of your views — women are everywhere, you know?
And to conclude, a little gaslighting: you didn’t understand because you didn’t interpret me correctly. But then, “I didn’t mean to take a stance”.
That is precisely the problem. You should, Roberto.
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Kate Mason is a TV presenter and documentary maker who is sitting in for Danny Kelly as host of The Athletic’s Tottenham podcast, The View From The Lane. She has been shortlisted for Columnist of the Year at this year’s SJA British Sports Journalism Awards.