Galatasaray accuse Jose Mourinho of making 'racist statements' and ‘plan to initiate criminal proceedings against him’

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has been accused of making 'racist statements' by rivals Galatasaray.

On Monday night, the two Turkish football powerhouses locked horns at the RAMS Park in Istanbul for a mouth-watering Super Lig clash.

However, the match turned out to be a slight disappointment as it ended in a 0-0 draw.

Prior to the match, it was confirmed that the derby would be officiated by Slovenian Slavko Vincic after both sides asked for a foreign referee to take charge.

Speaking after the 0-0 draw, Mourinho again criticised Turkish referees as he stated it would have been a 'disaster' to use an official from the country.

He said: "I have to thank the referee. After the big dive in the first minute and their bench jumping like monkeys on the top of the kid... with a Turkish referee you would have a yellow card after one minute and after five minutes I would have to change him.

"I went to the referee's dressing room after the game, of course the fourth official was there, a Turkish referee. I told him 'thank you for coming here, you come for a big match' and I turned myself to the fourth official and I said 'if you were a referee this match would be a disaster'."

On the back of the comments made by Mourinho, Galatasaray released a statement of their own, accusing the Portuguese of making 'racist statements'.

Galatasaray issue statement on Jose Mourinho after 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce

As reported by the BBC, it has not been made clear which statements Galatasaray were referring to.

The statement from Galatasaray read: "Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people. Today, his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric.

Galatasaray have accused Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho of racism and say they will initiate criminal proceedings against him after the 0-0 draw in Istanbul 🚨

Mourinho accused the Galatasaray bench of jumping up and down like "monkeys". pic.twitter.com/GuZihY2pIZ

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 24, 2025

"We hereby 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.

"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."

SPORTbible has contacted Jose Mourinho's representatives for comment.