José Mourinho is certainly revelling in his role as Fenerbahçe coach with the Portuguese certainly making his infamously antagonistic presence felt during his debut season in Turkish football.
Mourinho was involved in yet another fracas on Wednesday after appearing to grab and tweak the nose of Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk in the aftermath of a particularly tempestuous Turkish Cup derby between the two Istanbul rivals.
Galatasaray won 2-1 at Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in a tense encounter that culminated in a skirmish between the two benches, leading to four red cards being shown in injury time. Mourinho then escalated things when he pinched the nose of his opposite number while they remonstrated with the match officials on the pitch after the match.
Gala have since accused Mourinho of “physically attacking” their coach after the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss approached Buruk from behind and grabbed his face, causing him to tumble to the ground.
“Our manager Okan and Mourinho congratulated the referees. After that, while Okan was continuing, Mourinho first verbally and then physically attacked him,” Galatasaray vice-president Metin Öztürk said. “Where else in the world can he do this? What does he think of Turkey?”
MOURINHO’DAN OKAN BURUK’A FİZİKSEL MÜDAHALE! pic.twitter.com/YLlNiSxIwQ
— Fotomaç (@fotomac) April 2, 2025
Gala also appeared to goad Mourinho on social media by posting a cartoon of the Fenerbahçe coach embarking on a press conference rant along with the caption “Galatasaray drives you crazy.”
MOURINHO’DAN OKAN BURUK’A FİZİKSEL MÜDAHALE! pic.twitter.com/YLlNiSxIwQ
— Fotomaç (@fotomac) April 2, 2025
While we wait for the repercussions from Mourinho’s latest stunt, it’s perhaps a good time to look back on the impressive litany of capers and consternation he has been responsible for already during his short stint in the Turkish Süper Lig.
Aug. 11, 2024: Booked mere minutes into his first game
It took Mourinho roughly 20 minutes to find himself on the wrong side of the disciplinary line in Turkish football after he was shown a yellow card during his first league game as Fenerbahçe boss. It was for arguing with the match officials, in case you were wondering.
Sep. 23, 2024: Called ‘crying one’ by Galatasaray
Kadıköy civarındaki mağazalarda satışta. #FBvGS pic.twitter.com/6qnkDAtEXF
— Galatasaray SK (@GalatasaraySK) September 21, 2024
Mourinho was offered a swift introduction to the bitter rivalry between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray when his new side lost in his first Istanbul derby. Fener were beaten 3-1 at home — the Super Lig leaders handing their rivals their first league defeat of the season — and then rubbed it in even further by mocking Mou on social media in the aftermath by labelling him “The Crying One” in reference to his self-appointed “Special One” nickname.
Sep. 30, 2024: Places laptop in front of TV cameras to protest refereeing decision
1:01
Laurens loved Jose Mourinho’s offside protest with a laptop
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Jose Mourinho protesting against an offside call against his Fenerbahce team by showing the broadcast cameras the call on his laptop.
Unperturbed, Mourinho was soon up to his old tricks during Fenerbahçe’s 2-0 win at Antalyaspor when he took umbrage with the referee’s decision to disallow Edin Džeko’s 76th-minute effort and mounted a wry protest from the bench. The Portuguese coach placed a laptop in front of the TV cameras displaying a still image of the build-up, thus presenting his evidence as to why the decision was incorrect. A booking soon followed.
Oct. 24, 2024: Red card vs. Manchester United
Manchester United fans were reacquainted with Mourinho when they travelled to face Fenerbahçe in the Europa League, a competition they’d previously won with the Portuguese coach at the helm. He was shown a straight red card on the hour mark for quarrelling with the referee after his new team were denied a penalty.
Skirting perilously close to an extended suspension, Mou later sarcastically applauded the match official for his “incredible” ability of being able to watch both the match and his behaviour on the touchline at the same time.
Nov. 8, 2024: Banned for saying he is fighting ‘the system’
“Man Of The Match Atilla Karaoğlan!”
“We don’t want him again!”
Mourinho pic.twitter.com/GNBlfrJ7Kn
— Fenerbahçe Bağımsız Kongre Üyeleri Dayanışması (@FBKOD1907) November 3, 2024
Mourinho’s familiar siege mentality stance was evident in November when he picked up a one-game ban for insinuating that both the Turkish football authorities and Süper Lig match officials were conspiring against him.
“I blame the Fenerbahçe people that brought me here. They told me only half of the truth. They didn’t tell me the whole truth because if they told me the whole truth, I wouldn’t come. But, with half of the truth and my boys, we fight opponents and the system.”
The rant came as part of a post-match diatribe following Fenerbahçe’s 3-2 victory over Trabzonspor, which climaxed with a winning goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time and a brilliantly botched knee-slide celebration from the man of the moment.
Feb. 21, 2025: Requests a foreign referee (and gets one)
After weeks spent repeatedly complaining about the standard of Turkish match officials, Mourinho openly requested that a top foreign referee take charge of the Istanbul derby against Galatasaray in a bid to alleviate the controversies that had marred several league games already this season. Sure enough, both Gala and the Süper Lig agreed to indulge Mou, allowing Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić to officiate the game, which ended in a goalless draw.
Feb. 27, 2025: Four-game ban for remarks on Turkish refs
It wasn’t long before Mourinho was banging a familiar drum when his sly comments about domestic referees made in the wake of the Gala derby were noticed by the Turkish Football Federation, who hit the Fener coach with a fine and a four-game ban. Mourinho insinuated that a Turkish ref might have been fooled into awarding an early freekick against Fener for what he called a “big dive” against 19-year-old defender Yusuf Akçiçek.
“Again, I have to thank the referee because with a Turkish referee after the big dive and the first minute and their [Gala’s] bench jumping like monkeys on top of the kids. A Turkish referee would have given [Akçiçek] a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes I would have to [substitute] him.”
Naturally, the comments did not go down well with Galatasaray, who swiftly announced that they would be initiating criminal proceedings against Mourinho and reporting him to FIFA and UEFA for what they referred to as “racist statements.”
Feb. 28, 2025: Sues Galatasaray over racism accusation
The very next day, Mourinho and Fenerbahçe responded to Galatasaray’s threats by filing a lawsuit against the club for what they said was an “attack on the personal rights” of their coach. Fener rejected Gala’s claim that Mourinho had used racist language and asserted that the club had “deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.”
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Mourinho pretends to fall asleep during a journalist’s long question
Jose Mourinho pretends to fall asleep in his press conference after Fenerbahce’s defeat to Rangers as a journalist takes over a minute to ask a question.
March 7: Pretends to fall asleep
We were treated to more classic Mourinho hijinks last month when the Portguese pretended to fall asleep during a media conference following Fenerbahçe’s 3-1 home loss against Rangers in the Europa League round-of-16 first leg.
While fielding a lengthy question from a journalist that lasted over 50 seconds, Mourinho lost concentration and pretended to drift off, even making snoring noises while the reporter continued to talk.
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