Harry Redknapp has called Thomas Tuchel a ‘German spy’ sent to ‘ruin’ the England team.
He appeared to perform a Nazi salute during conversations about the Three Lions manager in footage shared by the Guardian.
The former England and Tottenham Hotspur manager made the comments at a recent charity event in London, which have since sparked debate among fans.
When asked whether Tuchel was the right man for the job, the 78-year-old responded: “I don’t know.”
However, in what appeared to be an attempt to amuse the crowd, Redknapp added: “I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s a German spy.
“I’m telling you. Seriously, he’s been sent over to mess 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.”
He then suggested Tuchel had been instructed to ‘go over and ruin that team’ before mimicking a German accent, saying: ‘Ja’ while delivering a gesture which resembled a Nazi salute.
The comments about Tuchel and the gesture that Redknapp made were met with laughter from the audience.
Redknapp also mentioned his own tax fraud trial in 2012, which took place while he was the leading candidate to become the England manager.
He was acquitted but was ultimately beaten to the England role by Roy Hodgson.
Before leaving the stage, Redknapp joked: “I’m going. I’ve got to go and see my accountant.” He clarified that he had not been paid for his appearance at the event.
Redknapp made those comments before Tuchel’s first two games as England manager.
The German kicked off his tenure with a 2-0 win against Albania before following up with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Latvia.
Tuchel is only the third foreign manager in England’s history, following in the footsteps of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
