Fenerbahce manager José Mourinho has been handed a four-game ban and fined £35,194 for remarks made following Monday’s match against local rivals Galatasaray.
Galatasaray accused Mourinho of making racist statements after the Istanbul derby. However, Fenerbahce issued a statement on Tuesday, asserting that Mourinho’s comments were “completely taken out of context.”
The match, which ended in a 0-0 draw, was officiated by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic following requests from both clubs for a foreign referee. However, the fourth official was Turkish, and Mourinho reiterated his criticism of Turkish referees during his post-match press conference.
The Portuguese coach, 62, said that he went to the referee’s dressing room after Monday’s game, telling the fourth official that “if you were a referee, this match would be a disaster”.
On Thursday, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced sanctions against José Mourinho for two separate disciplinary violations.
The TFF stated that Mourinho would be penalized for “derogatory and offensive remarks towards the Turkish referee” and for “insulting and offensive comments accusing Turkish football of chaos and disorder, directed at the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees.”
The former Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham manager has been banned from the dressing room and dugout for two matches and fined 117,000 Turkish lira (£2,543).
Additionally, Mourinho received a separate two-match ban for “unsportsmanlike conduct” during his post-match press conference and was fined an additional £32,651.
His comments included him saying that “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 said “the statements used towards the members of the opposing team were contrary to the ethics of sports and the concept of fair play, contained expressions that could encourage violence and disorder in sports, were divisive and separatist in society and could cause fan incidents”.
Fenerbahce officials confirmed to the BBC on Thursday that the club will appeal the penalties given to Mourinho.