José Mourinho accused of 'racist comments' after heated Istanbul derby

Updated: 26 Feb, 2025 • 0 • min read

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José Mourinho accused of 'racist comments' after heated Istanbul derby

Photo: Getty Images

Fenerbahçe boss José Mourinho is now embroiled in a racism row following the fierce Istanbul derby against Galatasaray on Monday.

The ill-tempered clash had to be paused after flares were thrown in the stands despite a reported 30,000 police officers on duty at the game.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Mourinho said the Galatasaray bench had been "jumping like monkeys" and repeated his criticism of Turkish referees.

Monday's match was refereed by Slovenian official Slavko Vincic after both clubs requested a foreign official take charge of the fixture.

I must also thank the referee. He had enough honesty to manage this match well. They tried to get a yellow card for our 18-year-old player from the first minute, but the referee managed the game well.

Everyone on the opponent's bench was jumping like monkeys. If it were a Turkish referee, they would have immediately given the card, and I would have had to take the player off in a minute.

READ MORE: José Mourinho mocked as 'The Crying One' after Galatasaray loss

In response to Mourinho’s comments, Galatasaray issued a scathing statement, confirming their intention to "initiate criminal proceedings" against the Portuguese.

Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahçe manager José 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 José 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. #SayNoToRacism.

Fenerbahçe later issued a strong statement in response to the accusations.

A statement made by our Technical Director José Mourinho after the match was completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort it.

As every sensible person can see and understand; these statements used by José 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.

Earlier this season, Mourinho was handed a one-match ban and fined nearly £15,000 for his response to Fenerbahçe's 3-2 victory at Trabzonspor.

The 62-year-old was charged with "unsportsmanlike behaviour towards opposing team fans" and "diminishing the value of Turkish football and... discrediting the impartiality of the referees and other match officials" during his outspoken post-match interview.

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