Fenerbahce, a Turkish team, is preparing to take legal action after bitter rivals Galatasaray accused their manager, Jose Mourinho of racism.
In an exclusive interview with Mail Sport, the Turkish club’s vice president Acun Ilicali said that Fenerbahce has held long meetings with their attorneys following a night of turmoil as the two clubs battled to a goalless draw on Monday night, February 24.
Following the match, Galatasaray accused the former Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham coach of racial prejudice.
Mourinho commented on the Galatasaray bench ‘jumping like animals’ following an early challenge, and how the match was better since it was supervised by Slovenian Slavko Vincic rather than a Turkish referee.
In response to the comment, Galatasaray issued a formal statement announcing both criminal actions and official complaints to UEFA and FIFA about Mourinho’s words.
Since then, video of Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk bouncing up and down on the sideline during the game has surfaced.
And Ilicali has defended Mourinho, revealing that Fenerbahce has spoken with their lawyers regarding the matter.
“We are more than 110 per cent sure his aim was not to be racist,” Ilicali told Mail Sport.
“The history of his life he has always had very good relations with people all over the world, of different nationalities.
“It is so clearly understandable. It’s an insult to the intelligence of some people.
“They tired to manipulate Jose’s description and at the end of the day we have seen a fake and theatrical approach from Galatasaray’s side.
“When he said they are jumping like monkeys, he was describing the movement which is clearly understandable because the footage is now public.
“He was just describing, like saying “you are running like a rabbit”, or “you are bad like a snake”.
“We use animals when describing with some exaggeration in life and it is as simple as that.”
When asked if the club will take action against Galatasaray, Ilicali responded: “We will go to court against Galatasaray for blaming our coach because this is a disgusting accusation.”
Ilicali also revealed that Fenerbahce had met with their lawyers on Tuesday.
Galatasaray’s statement, which was accompanied by the words’say no to racism’, 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.”
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