{"id":3580,"date":"2026-04-02T17:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=3580"},"modified":"2026-04-02T17:11:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:11:33","slug":"roberto-de-zerbi-responds-to-backlash-over-mason-greenwood-comments-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=3580","title":{"rendered":"Roberto De Zerbi responds to backlash over Mason Greenwood comments | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2252370969.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27787046\" alt=\"FBL-FRA-CUP-BOURG-EN-BRESSE-MARSEILLE\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Roberto De Zerbi managed Mason Greenwood at Marseille (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Roberto De Zerbi has apologised for his comments about Mason Greenwood in his first interview since being appointed Tottenham head coach.<\/p>\n<p>De Zerbi was appointed by Spurs on a five-year deal, replacing Igor Tudor after his ill-fated 44 days in charge of the north London club.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian arrives with his new side deep in a relegation battle and only one point outside of the Premier League\u2019s bottom three.<\/p>\n<p>De Zerbi impressed at Brighton before moving to Marseille, but his arrival at Tottenham received backlash from some of the fanbase due to comments he made about Greenwood while in France.<\/p>\n<p>The former Manchester United forward was charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning bodily harm towards the same woman in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Greenwood denied any wrongdoing, with the charges dropped in February 2023\u00a0before he was set to stand trial.<\/p>\n<p>The Englishman later moved to Marseille, where he worked under De Zerbi, with the Italian going on to describe Greenwood as a \u2018good guy\u2019 who had \u2018paid a heavy price\u2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tGet your football fix\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p><strong>Metro<\/strong>&#8216;s weekly newsletter In The Mixer delivers punchy analysis and breakdowns of the biggest football stories directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>Sign up here, it&#8217;s an open goal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2213474577.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27799812\" alt=\"Lille OSC v Olympique de Marseille - Ligue 1 McDonald's\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Roberto De Zerbi apologised for his previous comments surrounding Mason Greenwood (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Addressing those comments on Thursday, De Zerbi said: \u2018I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women, or violence against anyone more broadly. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018In my life I have always stood up for those who are more vulnerable, more fragile.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ve consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are most at risk. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018Those of you who know me well, will know I\u2019m not the type of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tWhat did Roberto De Zerbi say about Mason Greenwood?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>After Marseille confirmed the signing of Greenwood, De Zerbi insisted the former United attacker was a \u2018good guy\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>He also suggested he was \u2018saddened\u2019 by how Greenwood had been represented by the press in his native England.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s a good guy, he paid a heavy price for what happened, a very heavy price,\u2019 De Zerbi said in the media when asked about Greenwood last November.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He has found the right environment for him. We have lent him a hand and given him affection. He\u2019s a little bit introverted but I know him and his family.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described in England.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m sorry if this offended anyone\u2019s feelings with this subject matter \u2013 I have a daughter and I\u2019m very sensitive to these things, and I always have been.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I hope that over time people will get to know me better and will understand that at that moment I didn\u2019t mean to take a stance.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to a crucial run of fixtures between now and the end of the season, De Zerbi urged his side to play with \u2018courage\u2019 in their fight to avoid the drop.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think we have to be focused just on the Sunderland game,\u2019 he added. \u2018I don\u2019t want to speak about the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018Game by game, we have to prepare the players to win the game and to be focused just on the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have to play with courage. We have to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accept this challenge, it\u2019s because I have a big confidence in the players and the style of the history of Tottenham football is a very clear style of play.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The Italian also confirmed he would not walk away if his side were relegated, insisting: \u2018I signed five years of contract because for me it is a big challenge and I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on <meta charset=\"utf-8\"\/><br \/>\n<strong>Facebook,\u00a0<\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metro_Sport\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: William Gallas predicts the only trophy Arsenal will win this season<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Paul Merson makes FA Cup quarter-final predictions including Man City vs Liverpool<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Gabriel Jesus hails surprise Arsenal teammate as club\u2019s \u2018best player\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--sport\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>Football Newsletter \u2013 In The Mixer<\/h4>\n<p>Punchy analysis, transfer talk and more from Metro&#8217;s football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; 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background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Roberto De Zerbi responds to backlash over Mason Greenwood comments | Football<br \/>\n<br \/>#Roberto #Zerbi #responds #backlash #Mason #Greenwood #comments #Football<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roberto De Zerbi managed Mason Greenwood at Marseille (Picture: Getty) Roberto De Zerbi has apologised&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[365,4141,317,3839,3838,383,3552,3553],"class_list":["post-3580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-backlash","tag-comments","tag-football","tag-greenwood","tag-mason","tag-responds","tag-roberto","tag-zerbi"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176.jpg",1200,630,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-300x158.jpg",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-768x403.jpg",640,336,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-1024x538.jpg",640,336,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176.jpg",1200,630,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176.jpg",1200,630,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-1115x630.jpg",1115,630,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-1024x538.jpg",1024,538,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2252370969_1775148176-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=6\" rel=\"category\">Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}