AFCON 2025
Jose Mourinho has been handed a four-game ban and a hefty fine by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for his comments after Fenerbahce’s Istanbul derby against Galatasaray.
The Portuguese coach was accused of making racist statements, which Fenerbahce claimed were “completely taken out of context”.
Mourinho’s troubles began when he criticized Turkish referees during his post-match news conference.
He said he visited the referee’s dressing room after the game and told the fourth official, “if you were a referee, this match would be a disaster”.
The TFF took issue with Mourinho’s comments, saying they were “derogatory and offensive” towards Turkish referees.
They also penalized him for “accusing Turkish football of chaos and disorder with insulting and offensive statements”.
Mourinho was also punished for his comments about Galatasaray’s players, saying, “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 [substitute] him”.
The TFF deemed these statements “contrary to the ethics of sports and the concept of fair play”, and said they “contained expressions that could encourage violence and disorder in sports, were divisive and separatist in society, and could cause fan incidents”.
As a result, Mourinho will miss four games and has been fined for his actions.
