Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho grabs at rival coach’s nose after Turkish Cup loss
Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk falls to the ground after getting his nose pinched by Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho on April 2 in Istanbul
By Homero De la Fuente and Amy Woodyatt, CNN
(CNN) — Tensions boiled over in the aftermath of Fenerbahçe’s 2-1 loss to Galatasaray in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, as manager José Mourinho clashed with his counterpart, Okan Buruk.
The heated Istanbul derby saw three red cards issued in stoppage time before the final whistle. However, the drama didn’t end there.
After the match, Mourinho approached Buruk from behind and appeared to pinch his nose, prompting the Galatasaray boss to fall to the ground.
The Portuguese manager was quickly escorted out of the area, while Buruk grabbed at his face before being tended to.
Galatasaray posted a photo on its official X account afterward with the quote, “YOU SHOULD NOT ATTACK, YOU SHOULD DIGEST!” along with a shushing emoji.
Galatasaray vice president Metin Öztürk described the incident as an “attack” in a post-match press conference.
“The latest incident is not only an attack on the Galatasaray Technical Director but also on Turkish football. I don’t know where this Mourinho gets this courage from. He insults Turkishness and there is no penalty. He gets a four-match penalty, it is reduced to one match and he serves that penalty in the Turkish Cup.
“Today, he attacked Okan Hoca. We are having great difficulty understanding this. The TFF (Turkish Football Federation) and observers have seen this by now. Both Okan Hoca and Mourinho went and congratulated the referees. Afterwards, while our Okan Hoca continued, Mourinho first attacked verbally and then physically,” he said.
“Where in the world can he do this? Where does he think Turkey is? I think Fenerbahçe will give the necessary penalty before the TFF.”
CNN has reached out to Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and the TFF for comment.
Wednesday’s incident is the latest for Mourinho, who was handed a four-match ban and fined by the TFF following his comments about Turkish referees after a match at Galatasaray in February.
The “Special One” was also accused of making “racist statements” by the rival club, which at the time planned to seek criminal charges against the world-renowned coach.
Fenerbahçe at the time said that the “post-match remark” made by Mourinho was “deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.”
“As any reasonable person can clearly recognize, the expression used by José Mourinho was solely intended to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team’s technical staff to the referee’s decisions during the match. These remarks cannot, under any circumstances, be associated with racism,” the club said in a statement.
The 62-year-old is considered one of the best coaches of his generation, winning two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues, one Conference League and eight league titles after previously managing Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and AS Roma, among others.
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