Football icon faces criminal complaint as slur emerges

Football legend Jose Mourinho is facing bombshell allegations he made “reprehensible” comments on a day 30,000 police were deployed.

Galatasaray have vowed to file a criminal complaint against Jose Mourinho amid claims he made “racist statements” after Monday’s Istanbul derby.

Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side drew 0-0 away with their bitter Turkish rivals but the match was overshadowed by allegations of racism.

Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss Mourinho claimed after the stalemate that Galatasaray had tried to get one of his team booked early on, The Sun reports.

He told a press conference that “everyone on the opposing bench was jumping around like monkeys”.

Galatasaray immediately hit back and accused the Portuguese manager, 62, of “regularly using derogatory words towards the Turkish people” since moving to Istanbul.

In a damning statement, accompanied by a #SayNoToRacism tag, the reigning Turkish champions added: “[He] has now added inhumane rhetoric to his immoral statements.

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“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.

“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.”

Fenerbahce's Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho looks on from the technical area during the UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-off 2nd leg football match between Fenerbahce SK (TUR) and RSC Anderlecht (BEL) at the Lotto Park Stadium in Brussels, on February 20, 2025. (Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP)

In his post-match press conference, Mourinho claimed Galatasary players had played for a draw and tried to get one of his players a yellow card.

Praising Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, who was reportedly drafted in from abroad following a string of controversies surrounding Turkish officials, 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.

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.”

Thirty thousand police were deployed. Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images.

“After the match, I went to the referee’s room. I said to the first referee, ‘Thank you for managing this big match well.’

“I said to the [Turkish] fourth official, ‘If it was you, this match would have been a disaster’. It was a very, very good match in terms of emotion and competition.”

Mourinho is yet to respond to the allegations made against him. The former Manchester United boss has previously spoken out on how football is plagued by racist incidents.

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.

Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen later shared his club’s statement to his Instagram story.

Mourinho had previously criticised Osimhen for his on-pitch antics, labelling him a fantastic player, but claiming he “dives too much”.

Jose Mourinho is a multiple Premier League winning manager. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk later took aim at the “Special One” for going into the referee’s dressing room to talk to him.

Buruk said: “Mourinho took a long time to cry. The Crying One… He’s famous for crying. He went into the referee’s room and cried. Let him keep crying.

“Mourinho entered the referee’s room. It is very wrong for him to speak insultingly to the Turkish referee. He said that if they were the ones managing, it would be like this.

“This is very wrong. I cannot believe that he is humiliating the Turkish referees so much, I condemn it.”

Former Porto, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss Mourinho took over at Fenerbahce last year.

Monday’s result leaves them in second place, six points behind Galatasaray with 12 Super Lig games remaining.

— This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Football icon faces criminal complaint as slur emerges