Tottenham have appointed Roberto De Zerbi as their new manager — and a significant portion of their own fanbase doesn't want him anywhere near the club.
De Zerbi replaces Igor Tudor, who lasted 44 days as interim before being fired on Sunday after Spurs' situation in the Premier League went from bad to worse. That makes three managers this season alone — Thomas Frank, Tudor, and now De Zerbi — following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou at the end of 2024/25. The reigning Europa League champions are one point above the relegation zone with seven games left.
The opposition to De Zerbi's appointment centres on his public comments defending Mason Greenwood while coaching him at Marseille. Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault — charges that were dropped in February 2023 after key witnesses withdrew. De Zerbi described Greenwood as a "good guy" who "paid dearly for what happened," adding that he knew "someone different from what's being described, especially in England."
Fans groups line up against the appointment
The backlash from Tottenham's own supporter organisations has been pointed and coordinated. Women of the Lane said De Zerbi had "publicly defended Mason Greenwood in a way that downplays the seriousness of male violence against women and girls" and stated flatly that this was "not an appointment Tottenham Hotspur should make."
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust called his remarks "unnecessary, ill-judged, and deeply offensive" and warned they "will have left victims of male violence alarmed." Proud Lilywhites, the club's LGBTQI supporter group, framed it simply: "It's about values, identity, and the kind of people we choose to represent us." Spurs Reach said De Zerbi's comments risk "normalising harmful attitudes" and "diminishing the experiences of survivors."
The trust has called on De Zerbi to show "visible and sustained support for women's charities and organisations working to combat violence against women." Whether that happens — and how quickly — will define the early tone of his tenure off the pitch.
Can he actually keep them up?
On the football side, De Zerbi is a genuine tactician. His work at Sassuolo built his reputation. His time at Shakhtar Donetsk — cut short by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — showed character. Brighton played some of the most progressive football in the Premier League under him. He's not a panic hire in name, even if the circumstances around this one are chaotic.
But his style — attacking, high-risk, complex — is a strange fit for a club that hasn't won a league game in 2026 and just took a 3-0 home beating from Nottingham Forest, a direct relegation rival, before the international break. Systems that require weeks to embed don't usually save clubs in seven-game windows. Spurs' survival odds will reflect that reality.
Tottenham have been in the top flight continuously since 1978. Seven games stand between that record and an ending nobody at the club saw coming when they lifted the Europa League trophy last May. De Zerbi has signed a long-term contract. Whether he gets to actually use it depends entirely on what happens between now and the end of this season.
"If those remarks reflect his genuine views," the Supporters' Trust said, "they cast a troubling shadow over the values of the club we love." That's the sentence that will follow him into his first press conference.
