Jose Mourinho accused of racism by Galatasaray as Turkish giants give statement

Galatasaray have followed up an Istanbul derby draw against Fenerbahce by reporting Jose Mourinho for alleged racism.

The two Istanbul giants collided at RAMS Park, but the game finished 0-0, with the real drama happening post-match when the hosts released a statement against Mourinho.

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In it they alleged that the Portuguese coach made a racist statement, saying: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkiye, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people.

“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 Fenerbahçe — an institution professing to uphold ‘exemplary moral values’— in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager.”

The statement likely is in response to a comment where Mourinho said: “Their bench, jumping like monkeys on the top of the kids.”

The top-of-the-table clash promised to be an intense one with foreign referee requested for the game in the shape of Slavko Vincic, while 4,500 police officers were in attendance.

However, the match was largely a damp squib, with visitors Fenerbahce the better side yet only managing three shots on goal.

There were small sparks during the game when Mourinho and his opposite number Okan Buruk were booked, while the game was paused in the second half when a flare was thrown from the away end into Galatasaray seating.

Yet things only heated up post-match, even before Mourinho’s statement that Gala have complained about.

Giving his version of events first, Buruk said: “It was the crying one’s speech. He is famous for crying. He cried here again for a long time. He cried inside. He cried in the referee’s room. Let him continue crying.

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“Mourinho entered the referee’s room. It is very wrong for him to speak insultingly to the Turkish referee. He said that if they were the ones managing, it would be like this. 

“This is very wrong. I cannot believe that he is humiliating the Turkish referees so much, I condemn it.”

The Turkish coach then went after Slovenian Vincic, saying: “He performed worse than the Turkish referees, I went and told him after the match. His hands and feet were shaking during the match, I couldn’t believe it.”

Unsurprisingly, Mourinho had the opposite view, praising the man who officiated last season’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

“I think it was a very big, good match and the reason for that was the very, very good referee performance,” the Portuguese began. “He had enough experience and integrity to survive in this jungle.”

Asked about the incident in the officials’ room, he said: “After the match, I went to the referee’s room. I said to the first referee, ‘Thank you for managing this big match well.’ 

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“I said to the [Turkish] fourth official, ‘If it was you, this match would have been a disaster.’ It was a very, very good match in terms of emotion and competition.”

Backing up Mourinho was his club’s vice-president, Acun Ilicali, who told a media pool: “Mourinho spoke to the referees… He did not say to the referee, ‘You can never referee a match here again’, he did not threaten him.

“Coach Okan must have spoken with the heat of the match. I understand that too because they played a very unsuccessful match. Statements like ‘Mourinho is crying’, ‘the referee was bad’ seem like a media operation to me.”

Vincic was the first foreign referee to officiate a Turkish Super Lig clash in 55 years, and appeared to handle the game well.

So well, in fact, that rivals Trabzonspor have since put out a statement saying they want the ‘experienced and fair’ Slovenian to officiate their games against the two Istanbul sides.

Still, it didn’t stop Mourinho from looking for another way to undermine the league, as he again attacked the hosts when asked if there was still a title fight.

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“Under normal conditions, I would say this league is still there,” he said. 

“If you ask what are normal conditions? If referees in Turkey look at today’s referee performance and say ‘I want to be a top-level referee like today’, then the better side will win the championship at the end of the season. 

“If the circus we have seen since the beginning of the year continues, then the story will have a different ending.

“Today, I came here for the first time to play a match, so I felt how they behaved in every way. It is a very good organisation, not clean but a good organisation.”