Tottenham’s Tudor under fire for treatment of goalkeeper Kinsky

Tottenham Hotspur interim coach Igor Tudor has been criticized for his treatment of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after substituting him after 17 minutes of his side’s 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Tudor pulled off a surprise by dropping regular keeper Guglielmo Vicario for the last-16 tie in the first leg and handing Czech Kinsky his first start since October.

But the move backfired spectacularly as Tottenham conceded three goals in the opening fifteen minutes, two of which were the result of glaring errors from the young keeper.

READ | Tottenham replace goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky within 17 minutes in a 2-5 defeat in the Champions League

Tudor immediately dispatched Vicario. The Croatian stood stone-faced as a stunned Kinsky made his way to the sanctuary of the dressing room.

“He (Tudor) has made decisions which he thinks will be one, keep him in a job, or two, keep Tottenham in the Premier League and the performance will turn around,” former Leeds United, Tottenham and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told the newspaper. BBC. “It was a very selfish decision (to replace him) as a manager.

«I think he brought Kinsky in tonight thinking that if he does well, I have an excuse to keep him until the end of the season. He changed that decision very, very early in the game.»

“It is very blatant for the manager’s self-preservation because it was a decision he thought was best for him and his team at the time, without taking the young goalkeeper into account.”

Joe Hart said he was shocked by Tudor’s treatment of Kinsky.

«The whole stadium feels sorry for him. He walks past Igor Tudor – and he doesn’t even acknowledge him. If that’s man management, I’m baffled,» said the former England goalkeeper, who also played for a while at Tottenham.

«He’s had a bad moment, a slip and then another bad moment. But the fact that he (Tudor) took him away at the age of 22 just to drop him, how is that good for him?»

Atletico coach Diego Simeone said he had never seen anything like it and there was even sympathy from Atletico fans and players. «Mentally it must be very tough for the goalkeeper. It was not the best solution,» said French striker Antoine Griezmann.

Support also came from former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea. «No one who has not been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position. Keep your head up and you will go again,» the Spaniard said on X.

The defeat set an unwanted record for Tottenham, who suffered a sixth consecutive defeat for the first time in the club’s history. It also raised serious questions about whether Tudor will remain in his post.

He replaced Thomas Frank last month with a reputation for helping save struggling clubs, but he has lost all four of his games in charge and Tottenham’s performances have deteriorated under relegation threat.

«I have to apologize to the fans, to everyone. It’s incredibly difficult to explain, at least for the first 20 minutes, I’ve never seen this kind of thing in my life. It’s very strange to explain,» Tudor said.

Published on March 11, 2026