Fenerbahçe boss José Mourinho has been hit with accusations of racism by the club’s arch-rivals Galatasaray — who are now vowing to drag the ‘Special One’ to court.
The claims erupted after Monday’s fiery 0-0 game in the Turkish Süper Lig, though Galatasaray has yet to specify exactly which comments triggered the outrage.
Fenerbahçe are still in the title race and trailing Galatasaray by just six points as the season heads into its final stretch.
The controversy exploded when Mourinho, 62, slammed Turkish referees and accused Galatasaray’s bench of “jumping like monkeys” after a heated first-half incident — words that instantly set social media ablaze.
The Istanbul-based club vowed to file criminal charges and report Mourinho to UEFA and FIFA.
But Fenerbahçe quickly fired back, calling the racism accusations “baseless” and accusing Galatasaray of trying to manipulate public opinion.
“A post-match remark made by our Coach, Jose Mourinho, has been deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner,” the club replied in a statement.“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.”
The Portuguese manager, who took charge at Fenerbahçe last June, refused to hold back in his post-match press conference, lambasting the Turkish referees and even putting forth the idea that foreign officials should take charge of every game in Turkiye.
“I went to the referee’s dressing room after the match,” Mourinho said. “I told them ‘this match was a disaster.’”
Mourinho, known as the “Special One,” is no stranger to controversy. He’s been fined, suspended, and has been constantly at war with officials throughout his glittering career, which has seen him win two UEFA Champions League cups, two Europa Leagues, and league titles across top championships in Europe.