Brighton & Hove Albion’s head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been fined and suspended for one game after an incident that occurred during their Premier League game against Fulham on Saturday 18 February.
De Zerbi was shown a red card after the match while on his way down the tunnel and reportedly took out his frustration on referee Darren England.
This happened week after Brighton were wrongly disallowed a goal against Crystal Palace. PGMOL chief Howard Webb met with multiple clubs who were affected by the wrongful decisions inlcuding Brighton boss and apologised for it.
But De Zerbi has criticised the meeting, claiming that it wasted his precious time that he could have spent on preparing the team for the next game. He also spoke out against the level of refereeing in the Premier League, stating that it was “very bad” and that to progress, there needed to be a different attitude.
He told Sky Sports:
“I told the referee this week, we had a meeting with his boss and I lost time in my work, in my job because I think the level of refereeing in the Premier League is very bad.
“To progress, we have to be with a different attitude and the referee today wasn’t in a good attitude. But it’s not a problem. I didn’t say any bad words, but I told him my opinion.
“I lost time to prepare my team. It was the last time I will have a meeting [with the PGMOL].”
“One time I lost time, it will never happen again. I’m not in England just to let me fool around with the meeting.”
The Italian has since been fined and suspended for one game. The FA released a statement, stating that De Zerbi’s behaviour on the pitch at full time was improper and that his behaviour and/or language in the tunnel towards a match official was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper.
Despite this setback, De Zerbi has done a remarkable job since taking over the job from Graham Potter, who left the club for Chelsea. He has won 10 games and drawn 5, helping Brighton climb up to 8th in the league, only 4 points behind Liverpool with two games in hand.
De Zerbi’s excellent performances have led him to be linked with a move to Tottenham, who are reportedly looking for a replacement for Antonio Conte, who is set to leave at the end of the season.
He has also been linked with the Chelsea job, with former Brighton manager Graham Potter failing to produce results and is expected to be sacked.