Gennaro Gattuso has lost the opportunity of coaching Tottenham Hotspur over a comment he made against same-sex marriage in an interview in 2008.
The Italian tactician who became a big option for Tottenham Hotspur’s new director of football Fabio Paratici when his deal with Fiorentina collapsed less than 23 days after he was appointed, is not a supporter of same-sex marriage. Hence, immediately reports started circulating that Tottenham were interested in his services, Spurs fans agitated against it.
Most of the fans took to Twitter using the hashtag, ‘No to Gattuso’ to agitate against the potential appointment of the Italian tactician for not being a fan of gay marriage.
The social media agitation against the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso was made popular by Spurs’ LGBTQ+ and allies supporters’ association. The agitation of the associations attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust who acted upon it.
“We can and do communicate supporter sentiment to the decision-makers at the club, and have done so very clearly on this occasion” the Tottenham Hotspur Supporter Trust tweeted. “We are aware of and acting on your concerns around potential managerial candidates.”
The effort of Tottenham’s fans ended the club’s effort to appoint the former AC Milan and Napoli coach which means that the club has to start the search for a new coach all over again.
Recall that Tottenham Hotspur have been without a permanent coach since they sacked Jose Mourinho on April 17, 2021.
When the 2020-2021 season ended, Tottenham failed to retain the club’s interim coach Ryan Mason. Hence, the club started its quest to get a permanent coach.
Before they started considering Gennaro Gattuso, they have tried to appoint Antonio Conte but the negotiation collapsed.
Also, Tottenham Hotspur showed interest in Julian Nagelsmann who is now the coach of Bayern Munich, and Brendan Rodgers, the coach of Leicester City but nothing concrete came out.
Reports claimed that Tottenham tried to bring back the club’s former coach, Mauricio Pochettino who is currently coaching at Paris Saint Germain, but the deal failed.
The last coach Tottenham Hotspur approached before they turned their attention to Gattuso was Paulo Fonseca. Reports claimed Tottenham decided to end their negotiations with the Portuguese coach who was the former coach of AS Roma because of their interest in Gattuso.
Now that the club’s fans have forced them to end their interest in Gattuso, it is left to see if they will resurrect their negotiations with Fonseca or start negotiating with another coach.
Tottenham are not planning to re-consider Paulo Fonseca or Gennaro Gattuso as candidates in the next hours – both deals 100% off, same for Pochettino who’s considered “untouchable” by Paris Saint-Germain since May. ⚪️ #THFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 18, 2021
Board now back at work to find the right manager.
Below are the comments Gennaro Gattuso made against same-sex marriage in 2008.
“In church, marriage should be between a man and a woman, even if this is 2008 and everyone can do as they please.
“I’m someone who has believed in the institution of the family since I was a small child and for someone who believes in their religion this (same-sex marriage) is very strange.”
