Sexist Blues boss denies he’s a bigot
MAURIZIO SARRI yesterday insisted he is not ‘The Sexist One’.
In March, the new Chelsea boss sparked a storm in Italy.
The then Napoli manager answered a female reporter’s question by saying: “You’re a woman, you’re beautiful. For those two reasons I won’t tell you to go f*** yourself.”
He later said sorry to the reporter.
Sarri also landed a two-game ban and £18,000 fine in January 2016 after former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini accused him of calling him a “poof ” and a “faggot”.
The 59-year-old was said to have directed the homophobic attack at Mancini during a Napoli clash with Inter.
After that incident he said: “If I did indeed use those words, then I apologise to the gay community.”
As Sarri was unveiled at Stamford Bridge, with club director and dealmaker Marina Granovskaia watching on, he claimed the wrong image of him had been painted.
“People make mistakes,” said the former banker. “One of these was made when I was angry.
“The other was not a mistake because it was a journalist with whom I shared jokes with for three years. It was misconstrued.
Problems
“These were mistakes, that is for sure. I think those who know me very well cannot define me in this way. Not homophobic or sexist or racist, absolutely not.
“I am an extremely open person and I do not have these kinds of problems and I hope to show this when I work here and live here.
“These mistakes were made and when someone makes a mistake they have to apologise and accept that some allegations could be made by the press.
“A professional and ethical approach is very important, more than apologies. I hope you get the chance to know me better and I hope you’ll forget about this very quickly.”
When Jose Mourinho first arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004 he dubbed himself ‘The Special One’.
Given the chance to describe himself in a similar way, Sarri said: “I would like everyone here and in the club, my players, all of you, just to call me Maurizio. Just Maurizio.”
Sarri – who confirmed he wanted to bolster Chelsea’s central midfield area where “a pinch of quality is lacking” – lavished praise on Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Champions City finished 30 points clear of fifth-placed Blues last season and Sarri said: “He is a class act, a champion and a genius.
“Clearly in the first year he had some difficulties as well. However, achieving 100 points in the Premier League is an extraordinary feat, maybe something that cannot be repeated. The first step is to fill in a gap, which was clear last year.
“A year before it was in favour of Chelsea. I hope last year was an occasional gap and not a structural one and we will work to make sure it was an occasional one.”
Sarri, though, was not so fulsome in his praise of Mourinho, saying: “I think someone who has this track record does not need a description.”
Despite having been linked with replacing Antonio Conte for months, Sarri said: “Until a few days ago I did not speak to the club.
“Through my representative and my lawyer I knew that there could be an interest and a possibility, but I wasn’t sure.”
The Italian also appealed for time to be able make his mark at Chelsea, admitting that it had not been easy to get over his football philosophy in the past.
He said: “In my previous experiences, a few years ago, I needed a long time. Once I needed three months.
“I hope that I have improved and that this initial time has got shorter and that the quality of the players will see results while we are building the team.”