FENERBAHCE accused Galatasaray of “pathetic slander” over claims Jose Mourinho made “racist statements”.
Ex-Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho, now in charge of Fenerbahce, claimed the Galatasaray bench “jumped around like monkeys” in a bid to get a rival booked during Monday’s 0-0 draw.
The Portuguese was alleged to have 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.
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“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 after the game said: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people.
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“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 praised Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, who was drafted in to take charge amid contorversies surrounding Turkish officials, for remaining resolute.
The Portuguse, 62 – who was criticised for visiting the referee’s dressing room after the game – 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.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
