Mourinho moves the goalposts before Europa League tie

The Tottenham Hotspur manager says he had to demand Shkendija fix the goalposts ahead of their tie on Thursday.

Published : Sep 25, 2020 11:11 IST

Jose Mourinho reacts during the Europa League contest between Tottenham Hotspur and Shkendija, North Macedonia, on Thursday.
Jose Mourinho reacts during the Europa League contest between Tottenham Hotspur and Shkendija, North Macedonia, on Thursday.
lightbox-info

Jose Mourinho reacts during the Europa League contest between Tottenham Hotspur and Shkendija, North Macedonia, on Thursday.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said he had to demand Europa League opponent Shkendija fix the goalposts ahead of their tie on Thursday after his keepers alerted him to the fact they were too small.

Spurs goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Joe Hart noticed the dimensions were wrong and told Mourinho, who took the matter up with UEFA’s delegate at the match. After the game Mourinho posted a picture of himself on Instagram nearly touching the crossbar.

ALSO READ | Mourinho convinced Dele Alli will stay at Spurs

“Before the game was a funny situation because my goalkeepers told me that the goal was small,” said Mourinho after goals from Erik Lamela, Son Heung-min and substitute Harry Kane fired his side to a 3-1 victory.

“I went by myself and of course the goal was small. The goalkeepers, they spend hours and hours and hours in the goal so they know when the goal is not the right dimension. I am not a goalkeeper but I know football since I was a kid and I know when I stand there and spread my arms and I know the distance so I felt immediately that something was going wrong. We got the UEFA delegate to confirm and yes it was 5cm smaller (too low), and of course we demanded for the goals to be replaced with goals of the right dimension.”

 

The game was played at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, as Shkendija’s stadium did not meet UEFA requirements.

The Spurs face Maccabi Haifa in the final qualifying round of the Europa League next week.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment