Footage of former Birmingham City manager Pep Clotet has gone viral after the 47-year-old laid hands on one of his players during a game in Italy’s Serie C on Friday.
Clotet – who was in charge of Birmingham in the EFL Championship between 2019 and 2020 following a spell at Oxford United – is now managing Triestina, after being appointed just under three weeks ago.
Friday’s 1-0 home loss to Giana Erminio left Triestina bottom of the table with just one win after 14 rounds of fixtures this season.
Triestina had to play two thirds of Friday’s game with just 10 men after Raimonds Krollis was shown a straight red card in the first half for lashing out at an opponent.
Manager Clotet was visibly furious with Krollis.
After Krollis had left the field of play, Clotet shoved him before grabbing the collar of his shirt with two hands and then aggressively shaking the 23-year-old forward.
Clotet received widespread criticism on social media for his conduct but, speaking after the match, he was adamant that he had behaved appropriately.
He also declared that Krollis – who only joined Triestina in August when he arrived from Serie B side Spezia on a season-long loan – would never play for the club again ‘as long as I am the coach.’
Clotet said: ‘My gesture was right for what happened.
‘What Krollis did is unacceptable. It damages Triestina, the club he represents and football in general.
‘Giana Erminio surprised us with their tactical attitude, but we managed to recover and get into the game until the expulsion.
‘Obviously, they then managed the game, but we, in numerical inferiority, fought and tried until the end.
‘We need to develop a more careful mentality. We need to know how to manage the crucial moments of the games, and this is an individual aspect.
