Gennaro Gattuso has fired back at Tottenham fans after the backlash to speculation that he would be appointed saw him miss out on the Spurs job.
After talks with Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca broke down, Gattuso emerged as a surprising candidate for the role of Jose Mourinho ’s successor.
Gattuso has had a journeyman managerial career, but did enjoy successful stints in charge of AC Milan and Napoli, winning the Coppa Italia with the latter in his first season in charge.
But after they missed out on the Champions League places in Serie A this season, Gattuso was sacked by Gli Azzurri.
The Italian was then appointed by Fiorentina, just 48 hours after departing Naples to replace Giuseppe Iachini.
That relationship lasted just 23 days, with Gattuso parting company with the club only a fortnight before he was due to start work.
That alerted Tottenham, who had seen talks with Conte and Fonseca break down in the latter stages of negotiations.
The club’s managing director of football Fabio Paratici is understood to be a long-time fan of the former Italy international.
As a result, Paratici and Spurs began negotiations with Gattuso for him to take over as manager to finally end their search for Mourinho’s successor.
But the reports that Gattuso was being seriously considered for the role provoked fury among Tottenham fans.
The 43-year-old has caused a stir with some controversial comments in the past, including on same-sex marriage.
Those comments, coupled with Tottenham’s long association with the LGBT+ community and their other community work, resulted in a huge fan backlash against Gattuso.
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The hashtag ‘NoToGattuso’ began trending on Twitter as fans made their feelings clear over the potential appointment.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust also released a statement to announce their opposition to a potential Gattuso appointment.
"We can and do communicate supporter sentiment to the decision-makers at the club, and have done so very clearly on this occasion,” the statement said.
“We are aware of and acting on your concerns around potential managerial candidates.”
After that backlash, Spurs pulled out of their talks with Gattuso and instead appointed Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager.
And Gattuso has now hit back at the Tottenham fans who protested against his appointment and insisted that he is not homophobic, racist or sexist.
“I find it hard to think that this was the reason for my failure to move to Tottenham,” Gattuso told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“At the limit, their fans may have been left with the image of my fight with Jordan in 2011, who was their assistant manager at the time.
“Me racist, sexist and homophobic? That’s not true, ask my former teammates. Only some of my statements have been misrepresented.
“My story teaches that keyboard hatred is something dangerous and underestimated.
“I am a public figure and I have the strength to react, but there are many other people who may not succeed and maybe throw themselves out of the window out of weakness.”
