GALATASARAY have vowed to make a criminal complaint against Jose Mourinho in the wake of Monday’s Istanbul derby.
Fenerbahce faced off with their bitter rivals in a 0-0 draw, but the match was overshadowed by allegations of racism.
Jose Mourinho in his post-match press conference following the Istanbul derby[/caption]
Monday’s huge derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce ended goalless[/caption]
Galatasaray released a damning statement, accompanied by a #SayNoToRacism tag.
It accused ex-Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham boss Mourinho of “regularly using derogatory words towards the Turkish people” since moving to Istanbul.
Gala’s statement continued: “[He] has now added inhumane rhetoric to his immoral statements.
“We would like to inform you that we will file a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office and that we will also file a complaint with UEFA and FIFA regarding these racist statements against Jose Mourinho.”
In his post-match press conference, Mourinho claimed Galatasary players had played for a draw, and tried to get one of his players booked early on in the match.
Praising Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, who was reportedly drafted in from abroad after requests from both clubs, Mourinho said: “The reason this was a good match was because of the referee’s performance.
“He had enough honesty to manage this match well. They tried to get a yellow card for our 18-year-old player from the first minute, but the referee managed the game well.”
However, it was his comments that followed which are believed to have caused uproar.
— Galatasaray Video (@VideoGSaray) February 24, 2025
Mourinho continued: “In the situation I mentioned, everyone on the opposing bench was jumping around like monkeys.
“If it were a Turkish referee, they would have immediately given the card, and I would have had to take the player off in a minute.
“It was a great match for him.”
Mourinho is yet to respond to the allegations made against him. The former Man Utd boss has previously spoken out on how football is plagued by racist incidents.
Fenerbahce’s supporters hurled red flares into the Galatasaray end[/caption]
The feisty derby saw seven yellow cards dished out, and the match was also stopped momentarily when Fenerbahce fans launched flares into the home fans beneath them.
Some 30,000 police officers were believed to be on duty for Monday night’s match.
