Jose Mourinho has claimed the ball used in Tottenham's 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough was like a 'beach ball' but insisted that wasn't the reason why his team didn't go on to win.

Spurs had to come from behind to secure a third-round replay in the FA Cup after Lucas Moura's header cancelled out Ashley Fletcher's opener at the Riverside on Sunday.

Speaking after the game, Mourinho made the bizarre gripe about the match ball, which saw his Spurs side struggle to maintain possession and assert any dominance over their Championship opponents.

Jose Mourinho has made the unusual claim that the ball used in the FA Cup was 'too light'

The Tottenham boss compared the ball used in the draw with Middlesbrough to a 'beach ball'

'I think this ball is [a] beach ball. It's too light. I don't think it helps the players. But that's not an excuse,' he told BT Sport.

The £115 Mitre match ball is used in all FA Cup fixtures this season and has been designed to 'manipulate airflow for pin-point accuracy and superior speed'.

Named the 'Delta Max', the ball has been engineered with 'Hyperseam technology' for almost zero water uptake', which reportedly performs in any weather conditions.

While Mourinho feels the technology used to create the ball went against his side, he also hit out at the fact that VAR wasn't in use at the Riverside either.

The £115 Mitre match ball is being used in all FA Cup fixtures this season

MITRE 'DELTA MAX' FA CUP MATCH BALL Mitre have designed the match ball which is used in all FA Cup fixtures this season An official version of the ball will set punters back £115 while a replica version costs £12 The ball has 14 panels and has an embossed, textured surface which helps 'manipulate airflow for pin-point accuracy and superior speed' It has also been engineered with 'Hyperseam technology' for almost zero water uptake – allowing the ball to last in all weather conditions Advertisement

Mourinho claimed Fletcher's goal for the hosts would have been chalked off if VAR was in use.

'Yeah because the Middlesbrough goal is offside. VAR would give [the offside decision],' Mourinho added. 'The referee was not some guy in an office 200 miles away.'

Mourinho's latest outburst comes less than a week after he branded Southampton's goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparks 'an idiot' following Spurs' 1-0 defeat on New Year's Day.

During the game, Mourinho was booked by Mike Dean for entering the opposite technical area, something the 56-year-old described as 'fair'.

After the game, Mourinho said: 'I think the yellow card is fair because I was rude, but I was rude to an idiot.'

Mourinho also believes Ashley Fletcher's opener would have been disallowed if VAR was in use

Lucas Moura scored with his head to rescue a third-round replay for Spurs later this month

Five days later against Boro, it was the same story for the majority of the game.

Tottenham lacked a cutting edge when going forward – just like at St Mary's – and will be without talisman Harry Kane after he picked up a hamstring injury in the New Year's Day defeat and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Mourinho deployed Son Heung-min and Moura up top to plug the hole left by Kane, with the Brazilian grabbing the equaliser in the second half.

Spurs looked disjointed up top leading up to Middlesbrough's goal, which prompted Mourinho to bring on Giovanni Lo Celso and Erik Lamela to add a different dimension in attack.

The double change on the 56th minute went on to pay off for the visitors who scored five minutes later.

'When we were losing 1-0 without strikers or the power to play inside their defensive line with lots of bodies and great soul, at that moment I had the feeling of "we are in trouble",' he told BBC Sport. 'But then everyone reacted. I reacted. The boys reacted.

Mourinho praised the impact of Giovanni Lo Celso (right) and Erik Lamela (not pictured)

'Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela helped us a lot. If one team has to win, it has to be us because we had so many chances. We missed easy last balls.

'We knew the way they play, long balls to the strikers. Because we have no striker I wanted to give Son and Lucas the chance to play together as a more dynamic double striker pair – different to Harry Kane.

'But Lamela and Lo Celso gave us more ball. We played well very in the last 20 minutes, we were just missing a second goal.'

Spurs will now host Jonathan Woodgate's Middlesbrough side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a replay on January 14.