Béla Guttmann was appointed manager of A.C. Milan in 1953. Guttmann had them top of Serie A 19 games into his second season in charge when a string of disputes with the board led to his dismissal. He later told a stunned press conference ""I have been sacked even though I am neither a criminal nor a homosexual. Goodbye"." From then on he insisted on a clause in his contract that he could not be sacked if his team were top of the table.