Jose Mourinho Alleged to Have Slammed 'Fat' Phil Dowd After Spurs vs. Chelsea

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reportedly heckled referee Phil Dowd after his team's recent 5-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, branding the official "fat," according to John Cross of the Mirror.

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The incident—in which Mourinho is said to have bellowed, "You’re too fat to referee, you should retire" and "You've cost us" to Dowd—reportedly occurred in the tunnel after the match, and, as noted by Cross, the episode doesn't paint the Portuguese in a particularly positive light:

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The amazing outburst came in front of several witnesses in the tunnel and happened after stewards frantically shut the big blue double doors at the top of the White Hart Lane tunnel as the players, managers and officials left the pitch.

It is understood that Mourinho later went into Dowd’s dressing room and the pair must have made peace because the incident was not in the referee’s official report.

But Mourinho later accused Dowd of being “too slow” in his post-match media interviews as he was upset at a string of decisions.

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Here's a look at the story's accompanying back page, per BBC’s Nick Sutton:

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It's not the first time in Dowd's refereeing career that he's been accused of not being fit enough to referee. As noted in Cross' piece, Sir Alex Ferguson got into trouble for similar comments he made about the 51-year-old official during his stint as Manchester United boss.

Mourinho was unhappy with a selection of decisions that went against his team in the humbling loss at White Hart Lane. He was then charged with misconduct by the Football Association for comments made after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Southampton a few days later, a sanction he intends to contest, per Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail.

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As noted by Ashton, Mourinho claims there is a "campaign" against his Chelsea team, and, as a result, the Blues manager has not fulfilled a number of media commitments since his team's draw down on the south coast.

Managers come out and complain about referees on an almost weekly basis, typically out of frustration or in an attempt to play some form of mind games.

Mourinho is usually heralded as the master of these sorts of antics, but if he has launched a scathing personal attack on Dowd—who has been a fine Premier League referee for 14 years—it is very disappointing indeed.