Former Birmingham City manager shoves, grabs and aggressively SHAKES a player on the touchline following a red card… before declaring he will never play for him again
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.
Triestina manager Pep Clotet (right) approached Raimonds Krollis (left) after he was sent off
Clotet shoved 23-year-old Krollis, who is currently on loan at Triestina from Serie B side Spezia
The manager grabbed Krollis by the collar of his shirt and began forcefully shaking him
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.
‘We lack understanding of situations. Sometimes we risk needlessly. But the commitment was there.
Clotet later defended his behaviour and said that Krollis would never play under him again
Spanish manager Clotet previously managed Birmingham City in England’s EFL Championship
Clotet is the manager who made Jude Bellingham (left) a first-team regular as a 16-year-old
‘We defended well even if we conceded an avoidable goal for a lost ball that we should have managed better.’
Triestina are the fourth club Clotet has managed since leaving Birmingham in July 2020. During this time, he has had three spells at Brescia, as well as stints at SPAL and Torpedo Moscow.
Clotet took charge of 47 games while he was Birmingham boss, winning 13 and losing 19.
He famously gave Jude Bellingham his senior debut as a 16-year-old.
