Adriana Garcia
Feb 25, 2025, 07:51 AM ET
Fenerbahce have rejected Galatasaray's accusation that Jose Mourinho made racist statements following Monday's league derby.
Turkish Süper Lig leaders Galatasaray said they will "initiate criminal proceedings" and report Fenerbahce coach Mourinho to FIFA and UEFA over what they call "racist statements" made by the Portuguese coach after the game.
Following his team's goalless draw at Galatasaray, Mourinho was asked about an incident early in the game involving his 19-year-old Fenerbahce defender Yusuf Akcicek, to which he said: "Again, I have to thank the referee because with a Turkish referee after the big dive and the first minute and their [Galatasaray's] bench jumping like monkeys on top of the kids.
"A Turkish referee would have [given Akcicek] a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes I would have to change him."
Fenerbahce said in a statement on Tuesday that Mourinho's quotes had been "completely taken out of context and deliberately distorted."
"As any rational person can see and understand, these statements used by José Mourinho during the match to describe the overreaction of the opposing team's technical committee to the referee's decisions cannot be associated with racism in any way," said the statement.
"Trying to portray this statement as a racist statement is a completely malicious approach. We inform the public that we will use our legal rights regarding this incompetent slander, which is thrown in order to take the rivalry off the field, change and manipulate the agenda."
Mourinho also infuriated Galatasaray when he said Monday's game would have been "a disaster" had a Turkish referee been in charge while praising Slovenia's Slavko Vinčić, who officiated the match.
Vinčić was chosen by the Turkish Football Federation following a request made by both clubs to have a foreign referee for the game. Galatasaray said on X that Mourinho had "persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people" since taking the job at Fenerbahce in the summer.
It added that his comments on Monday had "escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric".
Mourinho has been critical of the officiating in Turkey this season. In January, he said there was a "toxic" environment around referees in the Süper Lig.
In November, the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager was banned for a game and fined following his diatribe about Turkish soccer, when he said he was fighting "the system" and suggested officials are biased against his team.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk was unimpressed by Monday's refereeing.
He said: "The fourth referee was not listened to because he is Turkish. I told him [Vinčić] after the match that he performed worse than Turkish referees ..."
Monday's result left Fenerbahce second in the league table, six points adrift of leaders Galatasaray.
According to Fenerbahce vice president Acun Ilıcalı the standings would have been different had foreign referees been used in the Süper Lig since the start of the season.
He said after Monday's game: "If there were foreign referees, there would be no point difference today.
"Galatasaray saw five yellow cards today. Look and see if Galatasaray has ever seen five yellow cards. Everyone is satisfied with the referee. Our coach is satisfied, we are satisfied, statements are coming from Anatolian teams, as far as I understand, everyone is satisfied. The only team that is not satisfied is Galatasaray.
"Why is it that the team with that point difference has not won a game in Europe for six games?"
He then added sarcastically in reference to Galatasaray's recent elimination from the Europa League in the playoff round at the hands of AZ Alkmaar: "Who did they play? Manchester United, Man City, Real Madrid? Think about which ordinary teams in Europe they could not beat.
"Zero wins in six games. In the seventh game, the foreign referee was here [on Monday] ... zero corners, half a shot ... That's the truth. We put a stick in the hornet's nest. I am sure that the teams that see this, the teams that play Galatasaray, are saying, 'I wish there was a foreign referee in this stadium for our game.'"
