Tottenham boss Igor Tudor speaks out after being accused of confusing Spurs staff member for Liverpool's Arne Slot in viral moment

The incident unfolded prior to Tottenham's recent draw against Liverpool on Merseyside. Cameras captured Tudor playfully tapping the shoulder of a bald man on the touchline, seemingly under the impression it was his managerial counterpart, Slot. When the man turned around, Tudor’s expression appeared to change, prompting a wave of social media theories that the Spurs boss had made an embarrassing gaffe. However, the person in question was actually Allan Dixon, Tottenham’s long-serving team manager and player liaison officer. Dixon also happens to be the brother-in-law of former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

Tudor was quick to shut down the narrative that he didn't know who he was hugging. Tudor revealed that even his own family had been caught up in the viral storm. 

"This time we did it on purpose!" he joked after the Atletico game in midweek. "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'." 

The Spurs boss expressed disbelief that anyone could think he wouldn't recognise a significant colleague. 

"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, 10 hours, with?! I come out and don’t know he is? It was a little bit ridiculous," Tudor added.

The light-hearted moment has now evolved into a running joke within the Tottenham camp. Tudor admitted that he has already given his colleague a new nickname following the global attention. "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," he explained.

There is even talk of the interaction becoming a pre-match ritual, reminiscent of Laurent Blanc’s famous kiss on Fabien Barthez’s head during France’s 1998 World Cup run. When asked if the "Arne" hug would become a permanent superstition to help Spurs' fortunes, Tudor said with a smile: "We will see."

While the mood was light in the press conference, the reality of Tottenham's season remains grim. They currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, just one point ahead of Sunday's opponents Nottingham Forest in a high-stakes relegation battle. Tudor is hoping that Forest's European exploits might give his side an edge physically.

“Of course I would be happy. This is normal. [If] this takes energy, for sure it helps," Tudor admitted regarding Forest's schedule. "Sometimes even going on in a European competition gives something else, confidence and energy. So sometimes it not always takes away from you, especially when you have two squads like two teams. If you don’t have injuries, it can be an advantage even to pass to the next round because it can give some energy in the dressing room."