Jose Mourinho faces 'criminal proceedings' as Galatasaray respond to 'racist statements' after Turkish Super Lig draw
Updated 25/02/2025 at 11:59 GMT
Jose Mourinho has been threatened with legal action from Galatasaray after the Fenerbahce boss made comments about the behaviour of their rivals' staff, as well as the standard of refereeing in Turkey. The match in Istanbul finished 0-0, with the main talking point of the night coming from Mourinho's post-match press conference, which saw him accuse Galatasaray coaches of 'jumping like monkeys'.
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Galatasaray say they will make an official complaint to UEFA and FIFA over alleged "racist statements" made by Fenerbahce head coach Jose Mourinho, after the latest derby in the Turkish Super Lig.
The match finished 0-0 but the game has been overshadowed by post-match comments made by Mourinho, who attacked the behaviour of Galatasaray staff - who he said were "jumping like monkeys" when appealing for decisions.
There had been tension in the build-up to the fixture surrounding the refereeing of the game, with the former Manchester United and Chelsea boss repeatedly criticising the standard of Turkish referees.
Mourinho praised the decision to appoint Slovenian official Slavko Vincic, who took charge of last season’s UEFA Champions League final.
Following the match, Mourinho approached a Turkish official and told him it would have been a "disaster" if he had been the man in the middle, with regard to one incident in particular.
"We thank the referee because after the big dive in the first minute and their bench is jumping like monkeys on top of the kid, with a Turkish referee, the kid would have a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes I would have to change. Thankfully, it was a perfect experience for him," he told his post-match press conference.
It was a busy match for Vincic, who showed seven yellow cards and had to stop the game temporarily due to flares being thrown in the stands.
"I went to the referee's dressing room after the game. The fourth official was there - a Turkish referee," Mourinho said.
"I told him [Vincic] ‘thank you to come here because you come for a big match and you are responsible for a big match’.
"I turn myself to the fourth official and I told him ‘if you are the referee it would be a disaster’. When I say him, I say the general tendency."
Mourinho went on to urge Galatasaray to appoint more foreign officials for future matches.
"If they're really, really good, if they want to be an example of 'we are good, we are strong, we are the champions, we want to show how good we are', they should ask for foreign referees every match.
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Slavko Vincic
Image credit: Getty Images
"But when the referees are foreign, UEFA Cup - at home, against us at home - one shot on target. But if they are good and they believe really in themselves and in their power, they should ask the federation."
Galatasaray did not take kindly to Mourinho’s comments and have now threatened legal action against him.
A statement from the club said: "Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people.
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"Today, his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric.
"We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho, and shall accordingly submit official complaints to UEFA and FIFA.
"Furthermore, we shall diligently observe the stance adopted by Fenerbahce - an institution professing to uphold 'exemplary moral values' - in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager."
'A completely malicious approach'
Fenerbahce have countered with a statement that accuses their Istanbul rivals of being "malicious" with their intent to portray Mourinho as racist.
"This statement has become necessary regarding a topic that has been on the agenda after the match played between our football team and Galatasaray," the statement read.
"A statement made by our technical director Jose Mourinho after the match was completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort it.
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Jose Mourinho
Image credit: Getty Images
"As every sensible person can see and understand; these statements used by Jose Mourinho to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team's technical staff to the referee decisions during the match can in no way be associated with racism.
"Trying to portray this statement as racist is a completely malicious approach.
"We would like to inform the public that we will use our legal rights regarding this pathetic slander that was made in order to take the competition off the field, change the agenda and manipulate it."
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