Premier League club Sunderland have parted company with head coach Paolo Di Canio following the side's 3-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
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"Sunderland AFC confirms that it has parted company with head coach Paolo Di Canio this evening," a statement on the club website (www.safc.com) said on Sunday.
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The Italian leaves Sunderland bottom of the Premier League with one point from five matches.
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Di Canio, 45, was verbally abused by travelling supporters on Saturday and was later highly critical of his players.
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"The players need to release the rubbish from their brains. They have to have more confrontation, more anger with each other," he said.
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"They need to look into each other's eyes. They lost their belief after 20 minutes. They turned their faces away. They must try to discover their mentality."
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Di Canio, who began his playing career in Serie A before spending seven seasons in the Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic, entered soccer management in England with Swindon Town.
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He was appointed manager of Sunderland last March on a 2-1/2-year contract after Martin O'Neill was sacked on the previous day.
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Sunderland said former club midfielder Kevin Ball would take charge of the team ahead of Tuesday's League Cup match against Peterborough.
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"An announcement will be made in due course regarding a permanent successor," the club statement said.
The moment Di Canio turned his anger at travelling fans on the pitch at West Brom, exchanging words with them, l knew he was in for it. Poor man!