Istanbul derby ends in draw but debate ensues

ISTANBUL

Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe played a goalless draw in a much-anticipated derby match on Feb. 24 night in the Süper Lig, with a fierce debate sparking after the final whistle.

Galatasaray accused Fenerbahçe coach Jose Mourinho of making "racist statements" following the match, which was officiated by Slovenia's Slavko Vincic.

Vincic was appointed by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) amid fierce criticism of Turkish referees’ performances so far in the league.

Speaking following the draw at Galatasaray, Portuguese coach Mourinho reportedly said the home bench had been "jumping like monkeys."

He also reportedly repeated his criticism of Turkish referees.

In its statement, Galatasaray said it would launch criminal proceedings against the 62-year-old.

"Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Türkiye, Fenerbahçe coach Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people," the club said.

"Today his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric,” it added.

"We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho and shall accordingly submit official complaints to UEFA and FIFA,” he said.

"Furthermore, we shall diligently observe the stance adopted by Fenerbahçe, an institution professing to uphold 'exemplary moral values,' in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their coach."

Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk also spoke without holding back.

"The Crying One's speech was a bit long, you know that he is famous for crying,” Buruk told reporters after Mourinho’s press conference, referring to the Portuguese’s self-given nickname “The Special One.”

“He cried here for a long time. He cried inside, he cried in the referee's room. Let him continue to cry.”

Buruk also criticized Vincic’s performance.

"I can't remember a derby referee giving such a bad performance,” he said.

“He kept stopping the game. There are cards he showed, fouls he gave and did not give. He made a lot of decisions against us. You could see on his face how much pressure he was under.”

Mourinho, on the other hand, praised the Slovenian referee.

“I think the referee's performance was at a high level,” he said. “That’s why I went to the referees’ room after the match and congratulated him.”

The Fenerbahçe coach also argued that Galatasaray is not as strong as it looks.

“They have big players, they are not a very good team, but they have big players,” he said.

“If they want to show that 'we are very good, we are very strong,' then they should ask for foreign referees in every game. We have seen what happens when there are foreign referees. They were knocked out in Europe, they had just one shot on goal against us at home. If they believe in their own strength, they will ask for foreign referees in every match."