Harry Redknapp has broken his silence after making a joke about England boss Thomas Tuchel being ‘a German spy’.
The decision to appoint the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss was met with a mixed response due to his nationality, despite his proven record of winning silverware at club level.
Speaking at a venue in London back in March, Redknapp, 78, was discussing the appointment of Tuchel as England’s head coach, and whether he was the right person to replace Gareth Southgate.
Former Tottenham and West Ham manager Redknapp was secretly filmed joking that German manager Tuchel had been ‘sent over to f*** us up’ after taking the England job.
Redknapp also admitted he was a fan of predecessor Southgate, but was not sure of Tuchel.
Now, though, Redknapp has stated that it was just a case of a light-hearted joke that ‘back-fired’.
Harry Redknapp has broken his silence following a joke he made about Thomas Tuchel in March
Redknapp, 78, was discussing the appointment of German boss Tuchel as England manager
Tuchel has made the perfect start to his England career with two wins from two matches
‘No, don’t don’t go there. Oh my god, it was a joke, you know, that badly backfired. But it was only a joke,’ he told Al Arabiya News.
‘Hopefully he can do well with the team. He managed a lot of the players at Chelsea. He’s certainly got talent at his disposal. We’ve got some fantastic young players in this country at the moment.’
Some reports had also alleged Redknapp appeared to make a ‘Nazi salute’ but video footage obtained by The Guardian was far from conclusive.
Tuchel made a comfortable, winning start to his tenure last month, with a 2-0 win over Albania followed by a 3-0 victory against Latvia.
Redknapp’s initial comments came at an event in London back in March, and saw him lament England’s failure to win a trophy under Southgate before making a joke at Tuchel’s expense.
‘I liked Gareth Southgate, I liked him a lot, but we should have won something,’ Redknapp began, before aiming a joke at Tuchel.
‘I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s a German spy,’ he claimed, prompting laughter from his audience.
‘I’m telling you. Seriously, he’s been sent over to f*** us up. He has. I’m telling ya, he’s like Lord Haw Haw in the war – “We have your best soldiers captured” and all that.’
Tuchel (pictured at Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by PSG) will next take charge of England in June
Redknapp will be in the dugout for England in the upcoming Soccer Aid match later this year
‘”Go over and ruin that team”,’ he continues, before saying: ‘Ja’ in a German accent.
He then leaves the stage claiming he needs to ‘see my accountant’ and stating that he had not been paid for his appearance at the event.
Footage of the event is thought to have been taken from before England’s recent round of international matches.
Redknapp himself was heavily linked with the England job after Fabio Capello resigned in 2012, but the FA instead opted for Roy Hodgson.
Redknapp will once again be in the dugout for England in the Soccer Aid charity match against the Rest of World XI later this year at Old Trafford, in support of Unicef.
