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Jamie Redknapp says it was 'almost a relief' for father Harry to finally open up on 1990 car crash

Harry Redknapp, left and his son Jamie at the HMV Football Extravaganza at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.   (Photo by Ian West - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Harry Redknapp, left and his son Jamie at the HMV Football Extravaganza at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. (Photo by Ian West - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

Jamie Redknapp has spoken out about how his father Harry Redknapp has struggled to talk about the horrific 1990 car crash he was involved in.

The accident took place in Italy after the country’s team played Ireland in a match when the minivan Harry was traveling in collided with a car, killing three young Italians and his West Ham teammate Brian Tiler who was sitting in Harry's usual seat on the bus.

While the 73-year-old has found it difficult to talk about the harrowing accident with his son, he opened up to talk about it for Jamie's new book Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer.

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Harry Redknapp of Rest of the World walks out for the second half during the Soccer Aid for Unicef 2020 match between England and Rest of the World at Old Trafford on September 06, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Harry Redknapp of Rest of the World walks out for the second half during the Soccer Aid for Unicef 2020 match between England and Rest of the World at Old Trafford on September 06, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Jamie, who would've been 17 at the time, shared on This Morning: "It’s one of the only times I’ve spoken about it with him in the book because he’s old school – he doesn’t want to talk about those experiences."

He added that his father felt "a certain extent of blame" as he was talking to some Irish football fans after stopping off for pizza, prompting Brian to sit in his seat.

"But I think for him to talk about it – in the book, everyone shares their memories, so for dad and I to sit down and go through it, I think it was quite therapeutic for us," Jamie went on.

Footballer Brian Tiler (1943 - 1990) of Aston Villa F.C., UK, 23rd August 1971. (Photo by Daily Express/Getty Images)
Footballer Brian Tiler (1943 - 1990) of Aston Villa F.C., UK, 23rd August 1971. (Photo by Daily Express/Getty Images)

"We have never spoken about it and we sort of brushed it aside, but to get it out in the open there was almost a relief. The way he was… He felt he was protecting us and to a certain extent it’s not good to hold things back."

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While he may have not addressed the subject often with his family, Harry did write about it in his own book Always Managing.

In his autobiography the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! winner said the "terrible injuries" he sustained prompted first responders to assume he was dead before he woke up in hospital two days later.

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