FENERBAHCE accused Galatasaray of “pathetic slander” after the latter claimed Jose Mourinho made “racist statements”.
Ex-Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho, now in charge of Turkish giants Fenerbahce, made comments about the Galatasaray bench “jumping like monkeys” after an early tackle in Monday’s 0-0 draw.
GettyGalatasaray accused Jose Mourinho of making ‘racist statements’[/caption]
The Portuguese was alleged to said the match was made better by the fact it was NOT officiated by a Turkish ref, with Slovenian Slavko Vincic in charge.
Galatasaray announced they intended to “initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho”, and would submit official complaints to Uefa and Fifa.
Fenerbahce responded: “A statement made by Jose Mourinho after the match was taken completely out of context and deliberately distorted.
“These expressions, used by Jose Mourinho to describe the extreme reaction of the opposing team’s technical staff to the referee’s decisions during the match, can in no way be associated with racism.
“Trying to portray this discourse as racist is a completely malevolent approach.
“We would like to inform the public that we will exercise our legal rights regarding this pathetic slander that aims to take the competition out of the field, change the agenda and manipulate it.”
Fenerbahce vice-president Acun Ilicali said: “As a club I can clearly say that we are behind our coach, we are supporting him 100 per cent.”
Galatasaray’s statement, said: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people.
“We 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.”
Mourinho got into hot water after claiming Galatasaray had tried to get one of his team booked early on.
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.
Mourinho claimed Galatasaray tried to get one of his players booked from the first minute, and praised Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic for remaining resolute.
He 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.”
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