Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Soccer-Fulham game postponement due to COVID-19 was 'unprofessional' - Mourinho

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - December 27, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho reacts Pool via REUTERS/Lindsey Parnaby

The Premier League's handling of the postponement of Fulham's match at Tottenham Hotspur due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the West London club was 'unprofessional' and could have been handled better, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said on Friday.

Fulham were forced to lodge a request with the Premier League to rearrange Wednesday's fixture due to several positive cases and the league called off the game less than three hours before kickoff.

Mourinho was not too pleased about being kept in the dark till the last minute and had posted a tongue-in-cheek comment on Instagram labelling the Premier League the "best league in the world" while they waited for a decision.

"I don't want to speak too much about it. Just to say I felt (it was) unprofessional, but that is the way it was," Mourinho told reporters ahead of Saturday's home match against Leeds United.

"We were preparing ourselves for that match and of course we didn't play, and that is disruptive of what is a week of work.

"Training sessions before that would be different if we were going to play that game. People say good for me that there was no game, but only good for me if I knew there was no game."

Mourinho said Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius are expected to be involved against Leeds after both forwards missed the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers with injury.

Mourinho added he does not expect any arrivals during the January transfer window with the club's revenues taking a hit due to the pandemic.

"Times are not easy, the club made a big effort in the summer to try and build a good squad," Mourinho said.

"If something good happened for us, it would be a big surprise for me... I don't feel the right to ask for something."

Spurs were top of the standings last month but one point from three games has dropped them to seventh but Mourinho said he expects his side to improve.

"Football is also mental, and you're not in control of every item of the game," he said. "I believe we're gong to have again a good period, where we win matches and score goals."

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.