No more Premier League games should be postponed because of COVID-19 outbreaks if the season is to finish on schedule, according to Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho described England’s top flight as “unprofessional” after Tottenham’s home game against Fulham was postponed on December 30 after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Fulham ranks.
His side will host Fulham on Wednesday - a fixture slotted in at short notice after Tottenham’s clash with Aston Villa was postponed after rising COVID cases at Villa.
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Fulham manager Scott Parker said being given only 48 hours notice to prepare for the game was “scandalous” but Mourinho suggests clubs need to get on with it and stop being selfish.
“Do we want to finish the season or no? Do we want football to keep going or no? Do we want to be the only country in Europe without football or no?” Mourinho told reporters.
“Do we want to have a champion at the end of the season, a cup winner, with relegation, with Europe or not? If we are all very selfish and want the perfect situation for ourselves it’s going to be very difficult for the Premier League to make it amazing for everyone, that’s obvious.”
Mourinho had scant sympathy for Fulham, too, saying he expected it to be able to field a full-strength team. “It’s my feeling the best Fulham will be here tomorrow and when we see the best Fulham you know many things don’t make sense,” Mourinho said.
“We’ve played 11 more matches than Fulham this season, we have played three games every week, in one week four. Fulham played on Saturday against QPR in London, they have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to prepare. If they come tomorrow with half the team I will be the first to apologise and say we played with an advantage. If they come with their best team, I think they should apologise to us. Come on. Let’s play football, let’s protect our industry and our image and let’s play football.”
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