Former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp has sparked controversy after appearing to make a Nazi salute while joking about England manager Thomas Tuchel at a charity event in London.

Speaking in front of an audience last week, Redknapp, 78, quipped that Tuchel, who took over as England boss in January, was “a German spy” sent to sabotage the team.

“I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s a German spy. I’m telling you,” Redknapp said in a video clip first posted by The Guardian.

“Seriously, he’s been sent over to [expletive] 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.”

William Joyce, known as Lord Haw-Haw, was a propagandist who broadcast Nazi messages to the UK during World War Two.

Redknapp then appeared to raise his arm in a Nazi salute while continuing his remarks, prompting laughter from the audience.

The incident has drawn criticism on social media, with some condemning the gesture as inappropriate. However, German comedian Henning Wehn dismissed the backlash, calling it a “non-story” and urging people to “lighten up.”

Tuchel, who previously managed Chelsea to the 2020-21 Champions League title, is only the third foreign manager to lead England, following Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.