Jose Mourinho has been handed a four-match ban and a fine of over £35,000 for comments made towards the refereeing team and in a later press conference which saw the former Chelsea manager accused of racism by rivals Galatasaray.
The Fenerbahce head coach made comments to reporters after the incendiary derby between the two teams earlier this week about the Galatasaray bench ‘jumping like monkeys’.
Mourinho commented that the match was better because it was not officiated by a Turkish referee.
Further to Galatasaray’s accusations, which included making official complaints to UEFA and FIFA, Fenerbahce revealed exclusively to Mail Sport that they are set to launch legal action over the ‘defamatory’ statements.
But now Mourinho’s punishment has been meted out by the Turkish Football Federation, with the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss set for a lengthy touchline ban.
Mourinho was punished for two separate charges, with the first pertaining to his discussions after the match with the officiating team.
The statement from the federation detailed how Mourinho had ‘come to the match referee and used statements towards the referee of the match.
‘Immediately afterwards, he directed his derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee, the 4th referee of the match, towards him and accused Turkish football of chaos and disorder with insulting and offensive statements towards both the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees, and his actions and statements that insulted the brand value of football activities in Turkey.’
Referring to the press conference comments, the statement read: ‘In the same competition, (Mourinho’s) statements made at the press conference after the match and which are the subject of the referral were referred to our Board within the scope of Article 41 of the FDT.
‘Considering the nature of the statements, it was determined that the statements used towards the members of the opposing team, were not mandatory, 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, and it was deemed an act against sportsmanship.’
More to follow.
