Fenerbahce’s head coach, Jose Mourinho, has been slapped with a four-match suspension and a fine exceeding £35,000 for remarks he directed at the officiating crew during a heated derby showdown with Galatasaray.
Mourinho spoke to the media following the fiery encounter between the rival teams earlier this week, noting how the Galatasaray bench was ‘jumping like monkeys’.
Mourinho also remarked that the game was improved because it wasn’t overseen by a Turkish referee.
In response to Galatasaray’s allegations, which involved lodging formal grievances with UEFA and FIFA, Fenerbahce disclosed their intent to pursue legal measures over what they called ‘defamatory’ remarks.
Now, the Turkish Football Federation has unveiled Mourinho’s penalties, setting the ex-Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager up for an extended stint away from the sidelines.
Mourinho faced consequences for two distinct infractions, the first linked to his post-match exchanges with the refereeing team.
The federation’s statement outlined how Mourinho had ‘come to the match referee and used statements towards the referee of the match.
‘Immediately afterwards, he directed his derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee, the 4th referee of the match, towards him and accused Turkish football of chaos and disorder with insulting and offensive statements towards both the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees, and his actions and statements that insulted the brand value of football activities in Turkey.’
These accusations led to Mourinho receiving a two-match ban from accessing the dressing room and the touchline, alongside a fine of £2,542 (117,000 Turkish lira).
Addressing his press conference remarks, the statement noted: ‘In the same competition, (Mourinho’s) statements made at the press conference after the match and which are the subject of the referral were referred to our Board within the scope of Article 41 of the FDT.
‘Considering the nature of the statements, it was determined that the statements used towards the members of the opposing team, were not mandatory, were contrary to the ethics of sports and the concept of fair play, contained expressions that could encourage violence and disorder in sports, were divisive and separatist in society and could cause fan incidents, and it was deemed an act against sportsmanship.’
For those comments, Mourinho was hit with an additional two-match suspension and a heftier fine of £32,602 (1,500,000 Turkish lira).
The match also triggered a slew of other penalties, including fines for members of Mourinho’s coaching crew, plus a one-match ban and fine for Galatasaray’s boss Okan Buruk, who dubbed Mourinho ‘the crying one’ and ripped into the referee at the final whistle.
Galatasaray’s next home game will see a portion of their supporters barred due to ‘bad and ugly chanting’, while Fenerbahce will face a two-match ban on away fans stemming from serious on-pitch fan disturbances.
Galatasaray also faced repercussions for their initial social media post, which highlighted the Portuguese coach’s ‘derogatory statements towards the Turkish people’ and pushed for criminal charges against him over ‘racial discrimination’.
The Istanbul outfit was fined £65,000 (3,000,000 Turkish lira), and their president, Dursun Ozbek, was slapped with a 34-day suspension of privileges.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli