Mourinho fumes at VAR despite ruling out Wilson strike

IT WAS a familiar sense of frustration for Tottenham and a familiar anger for Jose Mourinho, who once again felt his team had been wronged by VAR.

Harry Kane was denied what appeared to be the clearest of penalties in the first half, when he was pushed in the back by Joshua King.

The man behind the screens in Stockley Park was Michael Oliver, the same video assistant referee who had controversially denied Spurs a penalty against Sheffield United last week.

“The same referee that was the VAR against Sheffield United,” said Mourinho. “In the world everybody knows that is a penalty. And when I say everybody, I mean everybody.”

Mourinho even referred to Oliver as “you know who”, as if he was a Harry Potter villain, adding that it was the most significant action of the match.

“The game had the most important moment,” Mourinho said. “You know when, you know who and I don’t want to say anything more in relation to that because everybody knows. I don’t need to say much more.”

Mourinho could not expand further in the usual post-match press conference. Instead he stormed out after a technical glitch prevented it from starting as planned.

Tottenham’s performances have so far been worse since football’s suspension, yet this was neither a good showing nor a good outcome. They could not even muster a single shot on target.

Ahead of Sunday’s north London derby they sit ninth in the table.

Bournemouth thought they had won it in the final minute of normal time, when Callum Wilson acrobatically turned the ball into the net. A slight handball from Joshua King saw it cancelled out via VAR, though, and Harry Wilson then missed the chance of the match in stoppage time, denied by Hugo Lloris with no one else to beat.

Eddie Howe’s side were on their toes from the off, closing down the Tottenham players and looking to play forward. The biggest cheers of the first half came for Adam Smith and Dan Gosling, who received huge praise from the home bench after crunching into challenges near the touchline. It has not been the case in recent games but here, at least, Bournemouth looked like a group of players who were willing to swing a few punches.

If only the same could be said for Tottenham, who were comparatively meek throughout. They had every right to feel aggrieved with the decision not to award Kane a penalty, but it was no excuse for the lack of quality.

Their flat showing in a grim first half prompted Mourinho to order both Tanguy Ndombele and Son Heung-min into a half-time warm-up.

The players soon needed to limber up again, thanks to a stoppage in play after a horrible collision between Smith and Ben Davies. The ball hung in the air and Smith’s eyes were locked upon it as Davies came charging through.

The impact was sickening, with Smith leaving the field on a stretcher and in a neck brace, although he was conscious and talking after a few minutes. “Don’t worry Smithy,” Kane told the former Tottenham player. “You’re still ugly.”

Nothing was quite as ugly as Tottenham’s performance, though.

For Tottenham, Arsenal will provide more formidable opposition than this. Mourinho will know this better than anyone. (© Daily Telegraph, London)