Jose Mourinho – now head coach at Fenerbahce – has reportedly been suspended with immediate effect by the Turkish Football Federation, but for ‘unsporting behaviour’ and ‘insults’ as opposed to racism.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager was embroiled in a new controversy this week after being accused of making ‘racist statements’ by Fenerbahce’s fierce rivals, Galatasaray. Locked in a Turkish Super Lig title battle, they played out a 0-0 draw on Monday.
It was after this meeting Mourinho remarked the opposition bench had been “jumping around like monkeys” following an early tackle. The 62-year-old also lauded the decision to bring in Slovenian Slavko Vincic to officiate the match, claiming it would have been a disaster if the match would have been refereed by a Turkish official.
Vincic, who oversaw last season’s Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, was drafted in by Turkish football bosses after recent controversies involving officials from the country.
Subsequently, Galatasaray released the following statement: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, 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 Fenerbahce – an institution professing to uphold ‘exemplary moral values’ – in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager.”
However, Sky Sports Italy claims to have a press release from the Turkish Football Federation saying they have now analysed the case over the past three days and decided Mourinho is deserving of a four-match touchline suspension for that he said.
Importantly the reasoning put behind this punishment is for ‘unsporting behaviour’ and ‘insults’ – no reference is made towards racism at all in their findings. Two matches are deemed for the post-match comments and the other two have been put down for criticisms directly towards the fourth official.
Ultimately, Fenerbache should agree with the findings as they responded to their rivals’ insinuation by stating: “We deem it necessary to issue this statement concerning a matter that has dominated the agenda following the match between our Football Team and Galatasaray.
“A post-match remark made by our Coach, Jose Mourinho, has been deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.
“As any reasonable person can clearly recognize, the expression used by Jose Mourinho was solely intended to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team’s technical staff to the referee’s decisions during the match. These remarks cannot, under any circumstances, be associated with racism.
“Any attempt to portray this statement as a racist remark is completely malicious.”
Mourinho’s employers also announced their intention to “exercise their legal rights against this baseless accusation.”
Didier Drogba, who worked with Mourinho during their time at Chelsea, this week jumped the defence of his former manager and claimed he is not racist.
In a passionate statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Drogba said: “Dear @GalatasaraySK. You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey and my love for the most decorated club in Turkey!! We all know how passionate and heated rivalries can be, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it.
“I’ve seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho. Trust me when I tell you I have known Jose for 25 years and he is not a racist and history (past and recent) is there to prove it. Let’s focus on our games, support our brilliant lions and let’s win the league to get close to our 5 [star emoji].
“How can my “Dad” be a racist [man tipping two hands emoji]. Come on guys [red and yellow love heart emoji, and three star emoji].”
