The former Premier League manager, Harry Redknapp, seemed to make Nazi greeting after jokes to the head of England, Thomas Tuchel, was “a German spy” when he spoke in a charity event.
Tuchel became England’s manager in January and took them to the World Cup classification victories about Albania and Latvia in its first two games in charge.
The former Portsmouth manager, Tottenham and West Ham, Redknapp, 78, spoke in front of an audience in an event in London before those games last week, and his thoughts about the German were asked.
“I will be honest with you, I think it’s a German spy. I tell you,” says Redknapp saying in a video clip obtained by The Guardian., external
“Seriously, it has been sent to [expletive] us up. He has. I tell you that he is like Lord Haw Haw in the war: “We have your best captured soldiers” and all that. “
William Joyce, known as Lord Haw-Haw, transmitted Nazi propaganda to the United Kingdom during World War II.
Redknapp also imagined an instruction given to Tuchel to “go and ruin that team.”
And he seemed to make a gesture of Nazi greeting as he commented on the audience, which were laughing.
BBC Sport has approached Redknapp to comment.
The incident has caused some criticism of Redknapp on social networks, although German comedian Henning Wehn, a usual guest in the BBC 5 Live fight talk, said: “What a history. Relieve yourself! If they do not allow us a little jokes, what is the soccer point? Or anything.”
Tuchel is the third permanent manager of England in England after the Swedish Sven-Goran Erikson and the Italian Fabio Capello.
When asked about that fact in October, he said “I’m sorry, I have a German passport.” Earlier this month, he said he needed to “win the right” to sing the national anthem.
The former head of Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel, took Chelsea to the 2020-21 Champions League in his previous spell working in England.
Redknapp was the last English manager to win an important national trophy, the FA 2008 Cup with Portsmouth, before Eddie Howe took Newcastle to victory in the final of the Carabao Cup this year.
The last managerial role of Redknapp was in Birmingham City in 2017. He also had spells with Bournemouth, Southampton, QPR and Jordan’s national team.
