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(Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur manager José Mourinho said he had to demand that Europa League opponent Shkendija fix the goalposts before their tie on Thursday after his goalkeepers alerted him to the fact. that they were too small.
Spurs goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Joe Hart noted that the dimensions were not correct and told Mourinho, who discussed the matter with the UEFA delegate at the match.
After the match, Mourinho posted a photo of himself on Instagram almost touching the crossbar.
“Before the game it was a funny situation because my goalkeepers told me the goal was small,” Mourinho said after goals from Erik Lamela, Son Heung-min and substitute Harry Kane all shot his team for a 3-3 win. one.
“I went alone and of course the goal was small. The goalkeepers spend hours and hours and hours in the goal so they know when the goal is not the right size.
“I am not a goalkeeper but I have known football since I was a child and I know when I stand there and open my arms and I know the distance, so I immediately felt that something was wrong.
“We got the UEFA delegate to confirm and yes, it was 5cm smaller (too low), and of course we demanded that the goals be replaced by goals of the correct dimension.”
The match was played at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, as the Shkendija stadium did not meet UEFA requirements.
Spurs will face Maccabi Haifa in the final qualifying round of the Europa League next week.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Rutherford)
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