Jose Mourinho learns extent of ban and receives fine for speaking against referees in Turkiye

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has been slapped with a four-game ban and a fine for his remarks against Turkish referees. The Portuguese manager made the comments in the aftermath of his side's goalless draw against Galatasaray in the Istanbul derby earlier this week.

Mourinho will pay a fine of 1,617,000 Turkish lira ($44,000) for the comments, which he made at a press conference. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) ruled that the 62-year-old former Chelsea manager had made derogatory and offensive statements aimed at the Turkish referees, hence his punishment.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce requested a foreign referee to officiate their derby game, leading the TFF to invite Slavko Vincic, who was in charge of the UEFA Champions League final last season. The referee showed Jose Mourinho and his opposite number Okan Buruk yellow cards for a confrontation during the game, but was praised by Mourinho.

Mourinho compared the referee with the local Turkish ones, pointing out that Turkish referees would have bowed to early pressure from the Galatasaray bench to book 19-year-old defender Yusuf Akçiçek. His comments on the matter were found to be offensive by Galatasaray, who opened criminal proceedings against him for racism, reporting to UEFA and FIFA.

The Turkish Football Federation have not commented on the report from Galatasaray, with Fenerbahce having pushed back and defended their manager. They also revealed that they plan on taking action against their rivals for deliberately taking Mourinho's words out of context and making a baseless allegation.

---

Former Chelsea stars leap to defence of Jose Mourinho amid racism row

A number of Chelsea stars have defended former manager Jose Mourinho amid his ongoing racism case in the Turkish Super Lig. The legendary manager was accused of having made a racist remark aimed at the Turkish people after insulting the Galatasaray coaching staff after their derby.

Former striker Didier Drogba took to X to post a lengthy message, in which he referred to the manager as his father and refuted claims of Mourinho being racist. Similarly, Michael Essien posted a photo of himself with Drogba and Mourinho on his social media, supporting the manager. John Obi Mikel also lent his voice to the case via his ObiOne podcast, as well.

Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce are said to be enraged by the claims of the Galatasaray side, who they feel have distorted the facts of the matter. They intend to pursue a legal course of action against the reigning champions for their mischief.