Jose Mourinho: Galatasaray accuse Fenerbahce head coach of 'racist statements' and threaten legal action

Galatasaray say they intend to bring criminal proceedings over "racist statements" made by Fenerbahce head coach Jose Mourinho towards Turkish people.

The Super Lig title rivals drew 0-0 on Monday night after tensions had risen over the referee appointment before the match with Slovenian official Slavko Vincic drafted in by the Turkish Football Federation.

Mourinho had welcomed the decision to use the referee who officiated last season's Champions League final following several recent controversies in Turkish football.

After the game, Mourinho made comments about the behaviour of the Galatasaray bench, saying they were "jumping like monkeys" following an early challenge.

Fenerbahce have since released an official statement on the matter but speaking to Sky Sports News on Tuesday, vice president Acun Ilicali accused Galatasaray of "manipulating" the situation and insisted Mourinho had "no intentions" of being racist.

Mourinho also praised the performance of Vincic and said it would have been a "disaster" if the match had been refereed by a Turkish official.

A statement from Galatasaray read: "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."

Mourinho said in his post-match press conference: "I went to the referee's dressing room after the game. The fourth official was there - a Turkish referee - I told him if you are the referee it would be a disaster.

"If they're [Galatasaray] really, really good. If they want to be an example of 'we are good, we are strong, we are the champions, we want to show how good we are', they should ask for foreign referees every match.

"But when the referees are foreign, UEFA Cup - go home, against us at home - one shot on target. But if they are good and they believe really in themselves and in their power, they should ask the federation.

"We thank the referee because after the big dive in the first minute and their bench jumping like monkeys on the top of the kid, with a Turkish referee, the kid would have a yellow card after one minute and after five minutes I would have to change. Thankfully it was a perfect experience for him."

Vincic showed seven yellow cards during the match and had to temporarily suspend the game after flares were thrown in the stands.

Fenerbahce accuse Galatasaray of 'malicious' approach

Fenerbahce released their statement on Tuesday, where the club accused Galatasaray of being "malicious" with their intent to portray Mourinho as racist.

"This statement has become necessary regarding a topic that has been on the agenda after the match played between our football team and Galatasaray," the statement read.

"A statement made by our technical director Jose Mourinho after the match was completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort it.

"As every sensible person can see and understand; these statements used by Jose Mourinho to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team's technical staff to the referee decisions during the match can in no way be associated with racism.

"Trying to portray this statement as racist is a completely malicious approach.

"We would like to inform the public that we will use our legal rights regarding this pathetic slander that was made in order to take the competition off the field, change the agenda and manipulate it."

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Jose Mourinho: Galatasaray accuse Fenerbahce head coach of 'racist statements' and threaten legal action