rewrite this title Jose Mourinho: Galatasaray accuse Fenerbahce head coach of ‘racist statements’ and threaten legal action

Galatasaray say they intend to bring criminal proceedings over “racist statements” made by Fenerbahce head coach Jose Mourinho towards Turkish people.

The Super Lig title rivals drew 0-0 on Monday night after tensions had risen over the referee appointment before the match with Slovenian official Slavko Vincic drafted in by the Turkish Football Federation.

Mourinho had welcomed the decision to use the referee who officiated last season’s Champions League final following several recent controversies in Turkish football.

After the game, Mourinho made comments about the behaviour of the Galatasaray bench.

Mourinho also praised the performance of Vincic and said it would have been a “disaster” if the match had been refereed by a Turkish official.

A statement from Galatasaray read: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people. Today, his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric.

“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. Furthermore, we shall diligently observe the stance adopted by Fenerbahce – an institution professing to uphold ‘exemplary moral values’ – in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager.”

Mourinho said in his post-match press conference: “I went to the referee’s dressing room after the game. The fourth official was there – a Turkish referee – I told him if you are the referee it would be a disaster.

“If they’re [Galatasaray] really, really good. If they want to be an example of ‘we are good, we are strong, we are the champions, we want to show how good we are’, they should ask for foreign referees every match.

“But when the referees are foreign, UEFA Cup – go home, against us at home – one shot on target. But if they are good and they believe really in themselves and in their power, they should ask the federation.

“We thank the referee because after the big dive in the first minute and their bench is on top of the kid, with a Turkish referee, the kid would have a yellow card after one minute and after five minutes I would have to change. Thankfully it was a perfect experience for him.”

Vincic showed seven yellow cards during the match and had to temporarily suspend the game after flares were thrown in the stands.

Sky Sports News has attempted to contact Fenerbahce for comment.