Chaos in Turkey as Galatasaray launch criminal proceedings against Jose Mourinho for alleged racist comments and 'inhumane rhetoric' after Fenerbahce clash

After Galatasaray's goalless draw with Fenerbahce on Monday, Mourinho said the home team's bench were "jumping like monkeys" and criticised referee Slavko Vincic's performance. After that, the Turkish league leaders accused the Portuguese of being "racist", that he has repeatedly issued "derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people," and they intend to take legal action against him.

As reported by Hurriyet, he said after the game: "I must also thank the referee. In the position I mentioned, everyone on the opponent's bench was jumping like monkeys. If it was a Turkish referee, he would have given the card in the first minute and I should have taken it off in the fifth minute. It was a great match for him. Vincenzo Montella has a lot of names on his plate, but I hope he is happy with his performance. The goalkeeper is not bad either."

A club statement on X reads: "Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Türkiye, Fenerbahçe 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 Fenerbahçe—an institution professing to uphold “exemplary moral values”—in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager. #SayNoToRacism."

Mourinho has not shied away from controversy since taking over at Fenerbahce last summer. In November he said "nobody abroad" wants to watch the Turkish league and that it was too dark and "smells bad". He then was fined for his comments about VAR official Atilla Karaoglan and later called the Super Lig "toxic". Now he is likely to be in more hot water over these latest remarks.

It remains to be seen if Galatasaray will push ahead with these criminal proceedings and what punishment, if any, will come the way of Mourinho.