Player says De Zerbi’s staff were “terrified of him” – Brighton manager lost his cool over decision, and not for last time

Since Roberto De Zerbi took over at Brighton & Hove Albion, there has been nearly nothing but praise sent his way for the good job he has done.

He has continued the good work set in motion by Graham Potter, and managed to boost the club’s reputation enough to convince the likes of Ansu Fati to join, even if on loan.

The manager has never been shy, either, recently admitting he didn’t like 80% of referees in the Premier League after some decisions in their last game going against his side, and Ascoli goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano admits the Brighton manager is also like that behind the scenes, speaking to Il Pallone Gonfiato.

He recalls a moment at Sassuolo when the Italian completely lost it in the dressing room, all because of a penalty that was given against his team.

He said: “During Sassuolo-SPAL, De Zerbi was nervous because the week before, VAR had removed the first goal for us and given a penalty to Fiorentina. This thing had created a week of controversy, the fact that they gave us a dubious penalty against Sassuolo. At the end of the game, I went straight back into the Sassuolo dressing room.

“De Zerbi tore his jacket off and threw his shirt at the sporting director. He insulted everyone on his staff. No one said anything. At one point, I told him ‘Robi, will you calm down?’ and he said ‘calm the f— down!’. All because of a dubious penalty which he said was due to a week of controversy. The thing I was shocked about was that his staff were terrified of him. They were terrified and nobody said anything.”

Since taking over at Brighton in early September 2022, De Zerbi has taken charge of 56 games for the Premier League club, winning 26 of them, drawing 12 and losing the other 18.

They currently sit 8th in the table after 12 games, most recently drawing at home to Sheffield United 1-1, and will next face Nottingham Forest away at City Ground.