Forest Green takes legal action over Robbie Savage's move to Peterborough
Forest Green Rovers owner Dale Vince has escalated his row with Peterborough United by launching legal action over what he calls the “tapping up” of former manager Robbie Savage.
In a short, pointed video posted on social media, Vince revealed the club had “begun a legal process for the tapping up of our manager, now ex-manager, Robbie Savage”, accusing Peterborough of breaking rules in their pursuit of the 51-year-old.
Peterborough declined to comment when contacted about the legal move, having already publicly rejected any suggestion that their approach for Savage was improper.
From promotion hero to legal flashpoint
Savage’s rise to this point has been sharp.
He first made his mark at Macclesfield FC, the phoenix club born after Macclesfield Town was wound up in 2020. There, he oversaw a ruthless, free-scoring side that stormed to promotion to National League North, piling up 109 goals and 109 points in a dominant campaign.
That success earned him his chance in Gloucestershire. Forest Green appointed him in July 2025, and he responded by driving the club straight into the play-offs in his first season, only to fall short against Boreham Wood.
It would be his only full campaign in charge.
Savage left Forest Green on 2 October with the team 13th after 11 matches. The departure, though, was anything but routine.
“That’s an illegal approach”
Vince has been openly furious about how the move unfolded.
Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire shortly after Savage’s appointment at London Road, the Forest Green owner said he initially blocked Peterborough’s request to speak to his manager.
“Peterborough themselves have covered themselves in no glory here. They came to us and said, ‘We would like to speak to your manager,’” Vince said.
“We said no, and so they spoke to him, and then he came to us and said, ‘I hear Peterborough want to speak to me.’ So, that's an illegal approach.”
The accusation is clear: Forest Green say they refused permission, and the conversation with Savage happened anyway. That is the foundation of the legal action now under way.
Peterborough, for their part, have pushed back hard. Chairman Darren MacAnthony responded on X, insisting the club’s process to appoint a new manager was “100% correct and proper, following all the rules”.
Two clubs. Two completely different versions of the same story. The lawyers will now be asked to sort out the truth.
Savage’s start at Peterborough
While the off-field dispute gathers pace, Savage has already begun the job that sparked it.
Since taking over at Peterborough, his record stands at two wins, two draws and two defeats in all competitions – a balanced, if unspectacular, opening spell as he tries to impose his ideas on a League One squad.
Forest Green, meanwhile, are left to rebuild without the manager they backed from non-league prominence, while also preparing for a legal fight with a club higher up the pyramid.
The touchline battle is over. The courtroom battle is just beginning.
