Legendary Football Manager Jose Mourinho Banned For Four Matches Following Comments On Turkish Referees 

Jose Mourinho is a name that is synoymous with the footballing world. The legendary manager is one of the most decorated managers on the planet and has managed several clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Jose Mourinho following his stint in Europe is currently the manager of Turkish side Fenerbahce and has them currently sitting in second in the league table. Now, Jose Mourinho has been handed a four match ban and a fine after the comments he made regarding Turkish referees following the 0-0 draw against Galatasaray. 

Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce faced off against Galatasaray in their Turkish Super Lig derby match. The match ended in a 0-0 draw with Jose Mourinho extremely unhappy with the match officials. Jose Mourinho after the match had gone to thank the match referee and when he saw the fourth official who was a Turkish referee he said, “If you are the referee … would be a disaster.”

Jose Mourinho had also reacted to a challenge early on in the game to which he had said that a Turkish referee would have reacted with a yellow card following a big dive and the Galatasaray bench jumping around like monkeys. 

Due to these comments, Jose Mourinho has been handed a four match ban along with a fine of 1.6 Million Turkish Lira. 

According to the Turkish Federation, the ban and the fine on Mourinho was put into place because his statements were derogatory and offensive in nature. It was also said that Mourinho’s statements violated sports ethics, promoted fan incidents and could incite fan incidents. 

Fenerbahce released a statement defending their manager saying that Mourinho’s statements were taken out of context and were deliberately distorted. 

Legendary footballer Didier Drogba has also come out in support of his former manager during this time.