Jose Mourinho in trouble in Türkiye: Galatasaray will sue him for racist remarks

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce played one of the most heated Turkish derbies of recent times on Monday, to the point that, after 55 years, they had to appoint a foreign referee.

Slovenian Slavko Vincic was in charge of a very complicated match, which ended in a 0-0 draw and saw seven yellow cards, including one for Colombian Dávinson Sánchez, from Galatasaray, in the 90+1 minute.

The appointment of Vincic, who officiated last year's Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, came after statements by Fenerbahce coach José Mourinho, who insisted that Galatasaray had been favoured.

After the 0-0 draw, which left Galatasaray as leaders of the Turkish Super League, Mourinho made some statements that generated a strong reaction from Galatasaray, which announced legal action.

"I think the only reason why today's game was good was the referee. Both teams fought well. The referee was responsible for the good game. His (Galatasaray) aim was to show the 18-year-old a yellow card in the 20th second. They are very strong in underhand strategies like this. If it had been a Turkish referee, Yusuf would have shown a yellow card," Mourinho said. So far, nothing strong.

The serious problem was the following sentence: "In the situation I have mentioned, all those on the opposing bench were jumping like monkeys. If it had been a Turkish referee, he would have immediately shown the card and I would have had to take the player off within a minute. The referee's performance was first class," he said.

Mourinho had one bullet left: "I went into the referee's room after the match and the fourth official was there. I said to him: 'Thank you for coming, for refereeing this match'. I said to him: 'If you had been Turkish, it would have been a disaster'."

Following the press conference, Galatasaray announced on social media that it would begin criminal proceedings against Mourinho for statements it considered racist.

"Since taking over as coach in Turkey, Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho has constantly made derogatory statements against the Turkish people. Today, his speech has gone from mere immoral comments to unequivocally inhuman rhetoric," Galatasaray's statement said.

"We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings in relation to the racist statements made by José Mourinho and will lodge official complaints accordingly with UEFA and FIFA. Furthermore, we will diligently observe the stance taken by Fenerbahce, an institution that claims to uphold 'exemplary moral values', in response to the reprehensible conduct displayed by its coach," he added.

Galatasaray CEO Eray Yazgan also reacted harshly: "The punishment for racism is clear all over the world! We hope that UEFA and FIFA will apply the necessary punishment. I ask them to support us in putting this person in his place. He has been insulting the Turkish people and Türkiye since the day he arrived," he insisted.