Galatasaray has accused Jose Mourinho of making “racist statements” and announced their plan to pursue legal action against the Fenerbahce manager over his comments after the 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday. While it is unclear which specific remarks they were referencing, Mourinho had referred to the home team’s bench as “jumping like monkeys” and expressed that the match would have been disastrous with a Turkish referee officiating. The game was refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic, following a request from both teams for a foreign referee. Galatasaray stated on X that Mourinho has frequently made derogatory remarks about the Turkish people since he joined the league. They further declared, “Today, his comments have escalated from being merely immoral to clearly inhumane rhetoric.” The club has confirmed their intention to formally initiate criminal proceedings regarding Mourinho’s racist statements and will file official complaints to UEFA and FIFA. Mourinho has faced fines and suspensions in the past due to his remarks regarding Turkish referees. The Portuguese expressed his dissatisfaction with the Turkish referees during a press conference following the match, stating, “I visited the referees’ locker room after the game.” “Naturally, the fourth official was present, a referee from Turkey,” Mourinho mentioned at the press conference. “I expressed appreciation to Vincic for being there for an important match and bearing responsibility for it. Then, I addressed the fourth official and remarked, ‘if you were the referee for this game, it would end up being a disaster.'”} “When I refer to him, I mean the overall tendency.” Mourinho also commended Vincic for refraining from issuing a yellow card to defender Yusuf Akcicek early in the game, despite the Galatasaray bench’s spirited response to a challenge. “I must thank the referee because if it had been a Turkish referee, after the significant fall in the first minute, their bench would have been reacting wildly, and a yellow card would likely have been given within a minute. As a result, I would have had to substitute him after just five minutes,” he remarked.
