Jose Mourinho, the manager of Fenerbahce, has been handed a four-match suspension in the wake of a racism controversy involving Galatasaray.
The former coach of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham was accused by Galatasaray, their Turkish rivals, of making “racist statements” after their Istanbul derby on Monday, which ended in a goalless draw.
After the match, Mourinho claimed in a press conference that Galatasaray’s bench was behaving inappropriately to get one of his players booked. He stated that “everyone on the opposing bench was jumping around like monkeys.”
Galatasaray responded immediately, accusing the 62-year-old Portuguese manager of “regularly using derogatory words towards the Turkish people” since he started managing in Istanbul.
Fenerbahce then defended Mourinho, calling Galatasaray’s accusations “pathetic slander.”
However, the Turkish Football Federation has now announced Mourinho’s four-game ban due to his actions after the derby.
The federation stated that Mourinho’s comments in the post-match press conference “contained expressions that could encourage violence and disorder in sport, were divisive and separatist in society, and could cause fan incidents.”
Referee Slavko Vincic from Slovenia was specifically chosen to officiate the intense derby after Mourinho had previously suggested that Turkish referees were biased towards Galatasaray.
Mourinho also faced criticism for entering the referees’ dressing room following the game.
Additionally, he received a second charge for making “derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish fourth official” at the end of the match.
The statement from the federation also mentioned that Mourinho made “insulting and offensive statements towards both the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees.”
Mourinho was given a two-match ban for each charge and fined a total of £35,000.
He will be absent for Fenerbahce’s upcoming four league matches against Antalyaspor, Samsunspor, Bodrum, and Trabzonspor.
Despite the domestic ban, Mourinho will be available to manage Fenerbahce in their Europa League round of 16 games against Rangers next month.
Mourinho took over at the Turkish club in June. Fenerbahce is currently second in the Super Lig, trailing champions Galatasaray by six points.
Following the racism allegations, several former players, including Didier Drogba, publicly defended Mourinho.
Drogba, a Chelsea legend who played for Galatasaray from 2012 to 2014 and is highly regarded by their fans, supported his former manager. Drogba stated to Galatasaray, “You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey and my love for the most decorated club in Turkey!! We all know how passionate and heated rivalries can be, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it. I’ve seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho. 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. Let’s focus on our games, support our brilliant lions and let’s win the league to get close to our 5. How can my “Dad” be a racist? Come on guys.”
