Tottenham-Fulham postponement ‘unprofessional’ – Jose Mourinho says late call-off was like a junior game

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho says the postponement of his side’s Premier League game with Fulham reminded him of when he coached under-13s football.

Wednesday’s game was called off three hours before kick-off because of the number of Fulham players testing positive for coronavirus or showing symptoms. Mourinho called the late notice “unprofessional”.

The Premier League wrote to the clubs explaining the decision was left so late because it had only just received full test results and medical advice.

But Mourinho is unhappy at the lack of communication, given speculation about a postponement had been rife for almost 24 hours before the final call was made.

“When I was coaching the under-13s and under-15s in Portugal 30 years ago, you got to a game at 9.30am and sometimes the opponent wasn’t there, or the referee wasn’t there,” he said.

“It was very frustrating for the kids, who wanted to play football, but couldn’t and only found out in the last minutes. That is almost what happened to us. We almost arrived at the stadium to find out we were not playing.

“But the day before the game, the press was full of reports the game was going to be postponed. The players were telling me it was being reported in their own countries but I couldn’t tell them and neither could my boss, Mr [Daniel] Levy.

“I am not referring to Fulham. I am referring to the organisation. I don’t think it is possible to have a situation like that.”

BBC