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Ciaran Kelly

'You don't want me to criticise Newcastle do you?' - Jose Mourinho's tense exchange after Spurs draw

Jose Mourinho believes some teams may 'easily' look to exploit the new handball rule - but the Spurs' boss refused to criticise Newcastle United after the Magpies' smash-and-grab draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs broke the deadlock through Lucas Moura on 25 minutes and the visitors had Karl Darlow and the woodwork to thank for keeping the score at 1-0.

Newcastle had failed to have a single shot on target before Andy Carroll's header struck Eric Dier's arm inside the box in stoppage time and referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot following a lengthy VAR consultation.

Dier's back had been turned but the International Football Association Board's new law determines that a foul will be awarded when the ball hits a player who has made themselves 'unnaturally bigger' with their arm.

Mourinho stormed down the tunnel after Callum Wilson put away the resulting penalty and even Steve Bruce said the new rule was 'a nonsense' before admitting that the Magpies had 'got away with one' after the game.

In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Mourinho said it was 'not for me' to judge Newcastle's performance after the black-and-whites did the 'best they could' before adding that Bruce would have been 'super happy' to only be 1-0 down at half-time.

In his press conference after the game, the Portuguese paid tribute to Darlow's 'phenomenal' performance and how Spurs had kept Newcastle 'away from the special box'.

Mourinho was then asked 'with handballs being given that easily, do you feel that is going to become a tactic in football - just booting the ball into the box and hoping that the ball hits an arm?'

The Spurs' boss responded: "Easily, for some."

Following up his initial question, Daily Express reporter Matthew Dunn questioned whether Mourinho thought that was 'a shame when you have played great football for 80 or 90 minutes and have been equalised by someone who's been so direct like that?'

"You don't want me to criticise Newcastle, do you?" Mourinho replied.

Dunn clarified that he was 'talking generally in the game'.

Mourinho said: "The only thing I can say is that we played very well. We played very well. That's the only thing that I can say. We played very well."

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