Roberto De Zerbi has apologised to Tottenham Hotspur fans who were offended by his past comments about Mason Greenwood during his time as Marseille head coach, insisting he would never intentionally downplay the issue of violence against women.

De Zerbi faced opposition from multiple Tottenham supporters’ groups in the days before his appointment as manager on Tuesday, due to his supportive remarks about former Manchester United forward Greenwood during their time together at Marseille.

– Why Tottenham have hired De Zerbi and what he’ll do tactically

Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behavior, and assault after images and videos were posted online.

British prosecutors dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of conviction.”

In his first interview as Tottenham manager, conducted with the club’s in-house media on Thursday, De Zerbi addressed a question regarding his comments about Greenwood, answering in his native Italian “because I want to be clear.”

“I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women, or violence against anyone more broadly,” De Zerbi said. “In my life, I’ve always stood up for those who are more vulnerable, more fragile.

“I’ve consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are most at risk. Those of you who know me well will know that I’m not the kind of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title.

“I’m sorry if I offended anyone’s feelings with this subject matter. I have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to these things, and I always have been.

“I hope that over time people will get to know me better and will understand at that moment I didn’t mean to take a stance.”

During their time together at Marseille, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who “paid dearly for what happened,” adding: “I regret what happened in his life because I know someone different from what’s being described, especially in England.”

After speculation around De Zerbi intensified last week, Proud Lilywhites, Women of the Lane and Spurs Reach posted “No to De Zerbi” statements, but the Italian was subsequently appointed.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust immediately stated they had “serious and far-reaching concerns” with De Zerbi being hired.

Spurs turned to De Zerbi after interim head coach Igor Tudor was sacked on Sunday with the Premier League outfit in 17th position and only one point above the relegation zone after a disastrous campaign.

De Zerbi promised to be in charge next season even if they are in the Championship.

“I signed five years of contract because, for me, it is a big challenge and I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what,” he said.

“It’s a difficult moment for everyone at Tottenham but I think we have the right qualities to come out of this moment.

“I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are and who the players are, because we have very big players and we have to work on their confidence and qualities.”

PA and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It’s been over a week since North Carolina fired basketball coach Hubert Davis. Since then, there have been few updates on the Tar Heels’ coaching search.

The silence is deafening, so deafening that despite a dynamic men’s Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend — UConn vs. Illinois, Arizona vs. Michigan — UNC will be a primary topic of discussion, from power broker-filled downtown bars to news conferences in Lucas Oil Stadium, with up to three potential targets involved among the four head coaches.

“People are going to speculate all they want,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Tuesday. “This team has my full focus. Nothing, nothing, I promise you — nothing — is knocking me off that path.”

There is no doubt Lloyd is all about leading the Wildcats to a national title. What he said also wasn’t a denial of interest in the job.

And it is just the start, not just for Lloyd, but Michigan’s Dusty May and even, perhaps, Connecticut’s Dan Hurley. (Illinois’ Brad Underwood is not believed to be on the radar).

The belief is UNC is willing to go “outside the family” — i.e., a non-alumni or former assistant — for the first time since 1952, when it hired St. John’s coach Frank McGuire.

If it wanted anyone else outside the Final Four teams, then this would likely be over. Yet, sources across the sport say Carolina has done little to no outreach to perceived second-tier candidates, suggesting that barring a surprise, they are waiting to talk to their top choice(s).

Meanwhile, there is the transfer portal, which is how rosters are increasingly built. It opens Tuesday. If someone isn’t in place by then — much of the work is actually already being done — then the prospects for next season are already troubling. So what else would explain the delay?

Someone among Lloyd, May and/or Hurley must be the target.

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s name has been floated, but even if he wanted to leave the NBA, there is little chance he would do so before the end of the season on April 12. That makes his timing, portal-wise at least, even worse.

No fan wants to hear their coach linked to an opening. However, in an era where rosters are increasingly year-to-year deals, the impact of such talk is less likely to rattle a locker room.

Maybe the better question is whether any of them would actually go, rather than using the one-sided interest to garner a raise?

UNC remains a special place, and again can be a great program, but this isn’t 10 years ago, let alone 25.

The parts that made it elite — tradition, the ACC, the Duke rivalry, television exposure, fan attention, shoe company alignment, etc. — matter less. Money for players, style of play and personality of the coach matter more.

That certainly doesn’t make every job even — it’s still Carolina — but the gap likely isn’t as wide.

In the extreme, consider Hurley, who can win his third title in four years, which would be more than the two that Smith won across 36 seasons in Chapel Hill. It also would be UConn’s seventh national championship since 1999, or one more than UNC has ever won.

How isn’t UConn the best program in the country, especially for Hurley, whose general demeanor could be described as outraged New York City taxi driver?

That works in the Northeast. Maybe not elsewhere.

As for Lloyd and May, why leave places that have already proved capable of providing the resources and support to construct powerhouse teams? These aren’t upstart clubs on unexpected, underdog Final Four runs. They’ve been dominant all season.

What resources can UNC provide that they don’t currently enjoy? How much better can they get? And on the flip side, what hidden hurdles await in Chapel Hill, political or otherwise?

There is the matter of money. Lloyd (about $5.2 million annually) and May ($5.1 million) have room to climb before hitting the level of Hurley ($7.7 million) or industry leader Bill Self of Kansas ($8.8 million).

However, Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois and Michigan AD Warde Manuel have been public about their willingness to rework contracts.

Manuel, whose department is in the middle of an independent review of its practices following a series of mostly football scandals, would seem particularly averse to seeing a bright, popular young coach leave on his watch.

Looming over everything is the opening of the portal just minutes after the conclusion of Monday’s national title game. Not only does Carolina need a coach ASAP but if one of the coaches mentioned were to leave, their old spot would have to scramble. The calendar is chaotic.

So here come the whispers and speculation and news conference questions — a Carolina blue backdrop to the Final Four.

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tennis Federation has announced the selection of the national Davis Cup Juniors team for the upcoming international competition in Kazakhstan.

The Davis Cup Juniors event is scheduled to take place in Shymkent from May 16th to 24th, 2026.

Trials to finalize the squad were held at the PTF Tennis Complex in Islamabad from March 30th to April 2nd. A total of twelve players participated in the selection process, shortlisted based on their recent performances and national rankings.

Notably, Abubakar Talha was granted direct selection and exempted from trials in recognition of his outstanding recent performance.

Following the trials, the selected squad includes: Abubakar Talha, Hassan Usmani, and Zohaib Afzal Malik.

President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, along with Secretary General Col. Zia-ud-din Tufail and other officials, congratulated the selected players and extended their best wishes for success in the tournament.

The federation expressed confidence that the young team will represent Pakistan with determination and excellence on the international stage.