Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho, one of the most recognizable names in soccer, has been accused of making “racist statements” by rival team Galatasaray, which plans to seek criminal charges against the world-renowned coach.
The accusation follows the teams’ heated 0-0 draw in the Turkish Süper Lig on Monday.
After the match, Mourinho heavily criticized the standard of Turkish referees and told reporters that Galatasaray’s bench had been “jumping like monkeys,” referring to the reaction of coaches and substitutes following an incident in the first half.
“Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Türkiye, Fenerbahçe 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,” Galatasaray said Monday.
“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.”
Galatasaray later clarified to CNN that it was referring to Mourinho’s “jumping like monkeys” quote.
On Tuesday, though, Fenerbahçe said “a post-match remark” made by Mourinho was “deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.”
“As any reasonable person can clearly recognize, the expression used by José 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 club said in a statement.
“Any attempt to portray this statement as a racist remark is completely malicious.
We would like to inform the public that we will exercise our legal rights against this baseless accusation, which aims to take competition off the pitch, shift the agenda, and manipulate public perception.”
After the goalless draw in one of soccer’s fiercest rivalries, the Portuguese manager was yet again outspoken in his press conference.
Mourinho criticized Turkish referees and said it would be better to have foreign officials for every match. Monday’s game was refereed by Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić, who Mourinho praised.
“I went to the referee’s dressing room after the game, of course, the fourth official was there, a Turkish referee,” Mourinho said.
“I turned myself to the fourth official and I told him, ‘If you were a referee, this match would be a disaster.’”
On Wednesday, one of Mourinho’s former players, Didier Drogba, defended his ex-manager. Drogba played a pivotal part in Mourinho’s successful first stint at Chelsea between 2004-2007 and went on to represent Galatasaray later in his career.
“Trust me when I tell you I have known Jose for xx years and he is not a racist and history (past and recent ) is there to prove it,” Drogba wrote on X.
Mourinho joined Fenerbahçe in June last year and the team currently sits second in the league, six points behind Galatasaray.
It’s been a tumultuous season for the “Special One,” who in November was fined and suspended for one game after launching a tirade against Turkish soccer and its referees, per the Associated Press.
The 62-year-old is considered one of the best coaches of his generation, winning two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues, one Conference League and eight league titles after previously managing Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and AS Roma, among others.
