In the charity event, former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp made a joke about England's current manager, Thomas Tuchel, calling him a "German spy." Redknapp, 78, who managed Portsmouth, Tottenham, West Ham, and others, was speaking in front of an audience in London just before Tuchel led England to World Cup qualifying wins over Albania and Latvia.
Redknapp imagined Tuchel, a third foreign England manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, as an undercover agent sent to "ruin that team." He also appeared to make a Nazi salute gesture during his comments, which were met with laughter from the audience.
BBC Sport has reached out to Redknapp for comment, while some criticism of Redknapp has been voiced on social media. German comedian Henning Wehn, a regular guest on BBC Radio 5 live's Fighting Talk, defended Redknapp, stating, "What a non-story. Lighten up! If we're not allowed a bit of banter, what's the point of football? Or anything."
Tuchel led Chelsea to the 2020-21 Champions League in his previous spell working in England. He is the last English manager to win a major domestic trophy, as Eddie Howe led Newcastle to victory in this year's Carabao Cup final. Redknapp's last managerial role was at Birmingham City in 2017.
Source: BBC Sports Football
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