He will go to sleep as the former Fiorentina manager following his attack on Adem Ljajic — one of his own players.
Rossi broke a number of written and unwritten rules when he grabbed and slapped Ljajic. Grown men are not supposed to fight men 31 years their junior. Managers are not supposed to fight their own players. Rossi is guilty of all of these offenses.
Fiorentina was trailing Novara 2-0 when Rossi substituted Ljajic after only 30 minutes. Ljajic disagreed with the coach’s decision, and made a sarcastic, thumbs-up gesture followed by clapping his hands toward the manager.
The volatile Rossi exploded in a surreal scene. Rossi’s staff and Ljajic’s teammates had to pry Rossi off of the young Fiorentina forward, as he slapped and punched him.
Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle fired Rossi after the game, according to Goal.com.
“I have decided to fire the coach for what we see as a serious incident,” Della Valle said. “I am sorry for Delio Rossi, because he’s a good person. This is a serious matter, though.”
Rossi becomes the 19th managerial casualty of the Serie A season.
See Rossi lose control and attack Ljajic in the video below.
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