Galatasaray has accused Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho of making “racist statements” and announced plans to initiate criminal proceedings following his comments after their 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday. While the specific statements were not detailed, Mourinho remarked that the home side’s bench was “jumping like monkeys” and suggested the match would have been a disaster if a Turkish referee had officiated.
The game was overseen by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, as both clubs had requested a foreign official. Galatasaray stated on X that Mourinho had consistently made “derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people” since his arrival in the league, escalating to “unequivocally inhumane rhetoric.” The club confirmed they will submit official complaints to UEFA and FIFA.
Mourinho, who has a history of fines and suspensions for his remarks about Turkish referees, once again criticized them during his post-match press conference. He revealed he spoke to Vincic after the match, thanking him for officiating and telling the fourth official—a Turkish referee—that the game would have been a disaster under his control.
Mourinho also defended Vincic’s decision not to book Fenerbahce defender Yusuf Akcicek early in the match despite protests from Galatasaray’s bench, stating, “With a Turkish referee, after the big dive in the first minute, their bench jumping like monkeys, you would have a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes, I would have to change him.”
Fenerbahce released a statement on Tuesday defending Mourinho, asserting that his remarks were taken out of context and misrepresented. The club argued that associating his words with racism was a “malevolent approach” and vowed to take legal action against what they called “pathetic slander” aimed at distorting the competition.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk also addressed the controversy, mocking Mourinho’s response. “The speech of ‘The crying one’ took a bit too long… He is famous for crying, and once again, he cried for a long time here,” Buruk said. “He cried inside, he went into the referee’s room and cried… Let him keep crying.”
Source: Swifteradio.com
