ISTANBUL — Galatasaray has revealed plans to begin legal action against Jose Mourinho and lodge complaints with international soccer organizations following allegations that the Fenerbahce manager made racist comments after a Turkish league match.
This announcement came after the match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce ended in a stalemate, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Mourinho, a 62-year-old Portuguese coach known for his previous roles at prestigious clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan, took over at Fenerbahce last year after leaving Roma.
On Tuesday, Fenerbahce released a response, dismissing the racism allegations as false. The club assertively claimed that Mourinho’s comments had been misconstrued and unfairly altered to appear racist when they were not. According to Fenerbahce, his remarks were simply misrepresented by being removed from their original context.
Earlier in the season, Mourinho was fined and suspended due to his vocal criticism of local match officials and the league, and his comments after the recent clash with Galatasaray have reignited controversy. The club accused Mourinho of making several inflammatory comments, particularly targeting Turkish citizens.
Emphasizing their dissatisfaction, Galatasaray stated that Mourinho’s language has worsened over time. The club signaled their intent to begin legal processes over these alleged racist statements and planned to notify UEFA and FIFA about their grievances.
In his defense after the match, Mourinho had acknowledged the decision to assign a foreign referee, Slavko Vincic from Slovenia, citing his performance as exemplary. Following the game, Mourinho expressed gratitude towards the referee, but when encountering the fourth official, a Turkish referee, he provocatively remarked that the game would have been disastrous if the same official had been in charge.
Discussing an early incident in the match, Mourinho opined that a Turkish referee would have issued a yellow card following an exaggerated dive, alongside the Galatasaray bench’s animated reactions, which he described using a metaphor that has since been criticized.
In a post online, Fenerbahce maintained that Mourinho’s comments were merely intended to describe the exaggerated reactions of Galatasaray’s technical staff to the referee’s calls during the game and should not be associated with any form of racism. Fenerbahce announced plans to pursue legal action against what they describe as unfounded allegations.
Previously, in November, Mourinho faced a suspension and a fine after making controversial statements about Turkish soccer, alleging systemic bias against his team. Despite the controversies, Mourinho has been leading Fenerbahce successfully into a Europa League round-of-16 match against Rangers scheduled for next month.
