Galatasaray Accuses Mourinho of Racism

Lío en Turquía. The Istanbul derby, always heated, ended with a monumental uproar on Monday, with José Mourinho as the main protagonist. Galatasaray will file a complaint with UEFA and FIFA against the former Real Madrid coach after the current Fenerbahçe manager compared the behavior of the local bench members to "monkeys" following a match at RAMS Park that ended in a goalless draw.

"I think the only reason today's match was good was the referee. Both teams fought well. The referee was responsible for the good match. Their goal (referring to Galatasaray) was to get a yellow card for the 18-year-old player in the 20th second. They are very strong in clandestine strategies like this. If it had been a Turkish referee, Yusuf would have seen a yellow card. In the situation I mentioned, everyone on the opposing bench was jumping like monkeys," Mourinho pointed out about a match refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic, one of the most prestigious referees in European football, whom the Turkish league called upon to try to ease tensions amid a volatile context due to recent refereeing by officials from that country.

"If it had been a Turkish referee, he would have immediately shown the card, and I would have had to take the player off in a minute. The referee's performance was top-notch. It was a very competitive match, perhaps not a good one in footballing terms, but there was good competitiveness," continued the Setúbal coach about a clash that left Galatasaray six points ahead of Mourinho's Fenerbahçe and with half the league in their pocket.

Despite this unfavorable result for his interests, Mourinho had no qualms in acknowledging that he personally congratulated the refereeing team for their performance. "I went to the referees' room after the match, and the fourth official was there. I said, 'Thank you for coming, for refereeing this match.' I said, 'If you had been Turkish, it would have been a disaster,'" he pointed out.

Mourinho's statements sparked the anger of Galatasaray, which harshly criticized the Portuguese through a statement in which they announced their intention to report him for racism to UEFA and FIFA.

"Since taking the coaching position in Turkey, Fenerbahçe coach José Mourinho has consistently made derogatory statements against the Turkish people. Today, his speech has shifted from mere immoral comments to a clearly inhumane rhetoric," stated the Galatasaray note, which could not count on the presence of Spanish forward Álvaro Morata due to injury in a match where Slavko Vincic disallowed a Fenerbahçe goal in the 14th minute for a prior foul on the local goalkeeper and left unpunished a fall by Nigerian striker Victor Oshimen in the visiting area after consulting the action with VAR.

"Hereby, we formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings for the racist statements made by José Mourinho and will file official complaints accordingly with UEFA and FIFA. Additionally, we will diligently observe the stance taken by Fenerbahçe, an institution that claims to uphold 'exemplary moral values,' in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their coach," concluded the Galatasaray statement, whose coach, Okan Buruk, also accused Mourinho of being a crybaby. "Mourinho took a long time to cry. Let him keep crying," said the Turk.