Tottenham Hotspur interim boss Igor Tudor has clarified that he did not make a mistake after a viral moment on the touchline of the draw with Liverpool at Anfield. The Reds were forced to settle for a point in their 1-1 stalemate last weekend in the Premier League, but a moment on the touchline went viral across social media.
As Tudor made his way down the tunnel, he went on to greet Tottenham’s team manager and player liaison officer Allan Dixon, who is also the brother-in-law of ex-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
Many on social media believed the Spurs boss initially thought it was Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, with the moment going viral across social media in the days that followed the draw at Anfield.
Tudor has now explained why it was not a mistake on his part that day against Liverpool, with the Tottenham boss also explaining how he has given Dixon a nickname related to Reds head coach Slot after the moment.
"What happened was my son, who is 20 years old, said 'in Croatia everyone is laughing at you because you made this mistake'.
"I said, ‘What mistake?’ You do know who the guy is?’. ‘No, I don’t know’. I said, 'it’s Allan Dixon, I’m spending all my days together with him'.
“So I came out [at Anfield] and he’s standing in front of my bench. What other coach can be there in front of it? It’s my training zone. He was there, I came to him to make a joke. If you understand, I came from this side (Dixon's right), I touched him and went to the other side. When he turned I was not surprised, I was laughing.
Igor Tudor applauds the Tottenham Hotspur supporters at the end of the Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield
"I can imagine in Croatia because maybe they don’t know who Allan Dixon is. But in England do they think I don’t recognise the guy I spend every day, ten hours, with?! I come out and don’t know he is? It was a little bit ridiculous."
Tudor went on to say that he and Dixon went on to recreate the moment on purpose before Tottenham’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid earlier this week.
He said: "Now [against Atletico] we did it on purpose to make a joke, because from now on I call him ‘Arne’! It’s not Allan, it’s Arne!
"But this is how it works, this is 2026, it’s about news, to have fun. It’s part of the work of today, but sometimes it's really ridiculous. I don't understand it, but you need to invent some news."
