Scott Parker and Jose Mourinho have clashed over the hastily rearranged Tottenham – Fulham game on Wednesday.
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Parker called the short-notice of switching the game ‘scandalous’ and wasn’t happy, as Fulham went from having no game at all to then preparing to play at Tottenham in just 48 hours.
Due to Fulham having to postpone the original fixture on Dec. 30 due to COVID-19 cases at the club, on Monday it was announced that Tottenham – Fulham would be played on Wednesday, as Tottenham’s trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday was postponed due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases at Villa.
That move also meant that Fulham’s home game against Chelsea had to be moved from Friday to Saturday, and they will also play next Wednesday against Manchester United.
So, three games in eight days against three of the big six. Safe to say Parker was not happy at all with the way things were handled.
“It was a possibility on Saturday afternoon,” Parker said. “I didn’t think it was realistic. We were then told on Monday at 09:30 we had to fill in for Villa. I realize we live in unpredictable times. We have to move things and it is not ideal. I am normally the last one to moan or whine. To confirm a Premier League game at 09:30 on Monday morning is scandalous. It’s not about the fixture. I accept we have to play but it’s the notice. The people making these decisions don’t understand,” Parker said.
The Fulham boss then questioned whether such a switch would have happened to a team at the top of the league.
“Jose [Mourinho] will know you plan for one game or the other,” Parker added. “Would this have happened with two of the biggest teams in a title clash? Probably not. This is not acceptable. We are putting players into a position at two days notice. The reason the game was called off was that we had numerous instances of COVID. Now we have to put them in a position to play at two days’ notice.”
Tottenham fine with the situation
Mourinho’s response?
Let’s just say he didn’t even get the world’s smallest violin out for Parker and Fulham, as he had previously complained at only having two hours’ notice before the original game was postponed.
“Are you serious? They had 48 hours to prepare for this game. Look, I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started,” Mourinho said. “The biggest impact is to have matches postponed. The changing of the order, the impact is I would say minimal, because in the end you have to play 19 matches at home, 19 away. You have to play two matches against every team. If to help the Premier League to end properly, I think it’s a solution we all have to accept as a positive solution.”
Mourinho coached Parker at Chelsea back in the day, but there will not be many pleasantries in the dugout at Spurs tomorrow.
