Fiorentina plot legal move to dodge Grosso’s payout after sacking

While sacking a manager is rarely a pretty sight, the manner in which Fiorentina have done it to Fabio Grosso could prove to be even more complicated.

According to reports from Sky Sport Italia and La Gazzetta dello Sport, lawyers representing the Viola are looking to establish disciplinary grounds against the former manager for his departure.

Essentially, it appears Fiorentina want to argue that Grosso is not due the rest of the salary he has agreed to pay him, because he was dismissed for reasons of his own doing.

The new advisor was let go late on Sunday night, after guiding the club to three consecutive defeats to kick off the Serie A season.

That may not be much to ask of a manager in Italian football, but it is far from ideal, and comes after a turbulent transfer market and a difficult opening campaign.

Grosso has been replaced by Paolo Vanoli, who spent the second half of last season on the touchline trying to avoid relegitation as the club continued to struggle under Stefano Pioli.

What sets this one apart is the fact that sources say Grosso informed sporting director Fabio Paratici directly that he could not continue in his role due to his disagreements with the club’s transfer policy.

He also allegedly threatened to refuse to report to the Viola Park facilities on the Monday following his final match.

That being said it should be noted that Grosso did not resign, and the fact that Fiorentina have chosen to dismiss him themselves while holding his comments against him in order to reassert their stance on transfers, in order to avoid paying out a large chunk of money to the sacked manager proves the club could find itself in a sticky position.

It remains to be seen whether they will, but it is certainly not the sort of start a club in need of new leadership wants to make three games into the season.