The Czech Republic stopper was taken off after just 17 minutes in the Champions League
Former Tottenham stopper Joe Hart has criticised head coach Igor Tudor following his handling of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky during a difficult Champions League debut on Tuesday night.
The young goalkeeper was handed his first start since October and his first appearance in the competition, but the evening quickly unravelled for the Premier League side. Two costly early mistakes contributed to Atletico Madrid racing into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes.
Tudor reacted by substituting Kinsky after just 17 minutes, replacing him with Guglielmo Vicario, with the match ending in a 5-2 defeat in the first leg.
Speaking after the game, Tudor defended his decision while explaining it was made to protect both the player and the team.
“I am coaching for 15 years and never have done this, but it was necessary to preserve the guy and preserve the team. It was an incredible situation.
“Before the game it was the right choice, with pressure on Vicario and Toni a very good goalkeeper. After this happened, of course, it is easy to say it is not the right decision.
“Toni was sorry, he made an excuse for the team. He is a bright guy and a good goalkeeper. The team is with him. Me too. He understands.
“Unfortunately, it happened big mistakes in a big game. It was too much for us in this moment when we are fragile, we are weak.”
Despite that explanation, attention quickly turned to Tudor’s reaction as Kinsky left the pitch. Cameras showed the manager not acknowledging the goalkeeper as he walked down the tunnel, while several team-mates attempted to console him following the difficult start to his debut.
On the broadcast, Hart questioned the decision-making and the way the situation was handled from a managerial perspective.
“To get to this level, signed by Spurs, one mistake does not alter you. That is a technical error, but what precedes that… was it the right decision? Maybe it was. But what I saw after…
“I hate being reactive because I like to know all the facts. But the fact he has taken him off in that situation having played him, he is young, 22, he is not a man, he has done nothing to try and hurt Spurs.
“[He had] a couple of bad moments, but to rip him off in this situation and not even acknowledge the guy? Every single one of Tottenham’s players who are feeling the pain don’t know what to do. How is that good for him?”
Hart also highlighted the psychological side of the position, stressing that even the game’s greatest goalkeepers have endured nights like that.
“It is a thing with keepers, you have got to accept you will have nights like that. Everyone has them. Buffon, Neuer, Schmeichel. They have had moments, but everything that has gone on on top of it, he will feel so unwelcomed as far as the management is involved.
“You have to be treated like a human, just a little bit. I understand the situation. This needs getting a serious grip of. Madness happens all the time in football. That was mad, maybe he didn’t handle it how he should have.
“I saw the whole bench’s hearts drop. They are saying, ‘don’t worry we are here for you’. It’s the human side of things. If you aren’t willing to show it, that’s when it starts to divide.”
The defeat leaves Tottenham in a difficult position heading into the return leg, while Tudor also faces mounting scrutiny after losing his first four matches in charge, conceding 14 goals during that run.
When asked about his future after the game, the Spurs manager was reluctant to discuss the subject.
“It is not a topic for me. It is not about my job, it is about how to help the team. It will be always be about that.
“Sometimes it is very difficult to explain. These things, when they happen in the moment where we are now, unfortunately, it is like that. Even these slippery things happen, it explains the moment, because they didn’t do it. The pitch was the same for both teams.”
Tottenham now turn their attention to a difficult Premier League trip to Liverpool at Anfield, with further concerns over injuries and suspensions in the squad.
