Jose Mourinho calls Southampton's assistant manager 'idiot' after spying on his tactics

Tottenham Hotspur produced yet another underwhelming performance in their 0-1 loss to Southampton on Wednesday. Spurs manager Jose Mourinho got himself in the bad books of the referee after he tried to peep into the Southampton assistant manager's tactic book. 'The Special One' was bizarrely booked for the incident.

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Watch: Jose Mourinho getting booked after a hilarious attempt to spy 

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Southampton vs Tottenham: Jose Mourinho's side continue to struggle

An early goal from Danny Ings was enough to see Southampton cause a major upset on New Year's Day. The game was, however, overshadowed by another critical VAR decision which saw it rule out Harry Kane's equaliser in the 73rd minute. Just minutes later, a frustrated Jose Mourinho approached the Southampton bench and tried to read what the Saints backroom staff was writing. He subsequently entered into an argument with the referee Mike Dean and got himself booked in the process.

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Jose Mourinho's post-match reaction

During the post-match interview, Jose Mourinho admitted that the booking was appropriate as his behaviour was rude. However, the 'Special One' made sure he fired back at the Southampton backroom staff by calling one of them 'an idiot'. Mourinho also expressed his frustrations with the game criticising Southampton's ball boy for time-wasting.

"The yellow card was fair, because I was rude. But I was rude to an idiot" - Jose Mourinho

Mourinho admired Southampton's grit in defending but felt the ball boys constantly broke the flow of the game. The 56-year-old took another swipe at VAR, stating that it should be renamed. According to the Tottenham head coach, VAR is overpowering the on-field referees and hence should be called Video Referee (VR). 

Social media reacts to Jose Mourinho's yellow card vs Southampton

Despite the off-field fiasco, Tottenham's recent struggles should be a cause for concern for Mourinho. They have managed just 3 wins in their last 8 games in all competitions. Alongside this, their alarming defensive record suggests that Jose Mourinho has some task in his hands. Next up for Spurs is their FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough before hosting Liverpool in the Premier League.

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