Turkish club Galatasaray has announced their intentions to ‘initiate criminal proceedings’ against Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho over what they claim to be racist statements he made during their 0-0 game on Monday, February 24, 2025.
In a post-match conference, Jose Mourinho aimed a dig at the Galatasaray players and coaches, stating that the bench of Galatasaray were ‘jumping like monkeys’ during the game.
Mourinho also reserved some harsh words for the referee whom he described as a ‘disaster’.
“I have to thank the referee. After the big dive in the first minute and their bench jumping like monkeys on top of the kid… with a Turkish referee, you would have a yellow card after one minute and after five minutes I would have to change him.”
He added: “I went to the referee’s dressing room after the game, of course, the fourth official was there, a Turkish referee. I told him ‘thank you for coming here, you came for a big match’ and I turned myself to the fourth official and I said ‘If you were a referee this match would be a disaster’.”
Galatasaray, in response, said they would not only initiate legal action against Jose Mourinho, but they would also file “official complaints” to football’s governing bodies.
In a statement, Galatasaray said: “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.”
Jose Mourinho, who won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea and FC Porto, was appointed Fenerbahce manager in the 2023/2024 season.
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