Fenerbahce have launched a passionate defence of Jose Mourinho and accused Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk of “throwing himself to the ground as if he had been shot” following the pair’s bust-up.
Mourinho appeared to pinch Buruk’s nose following Fenerbahce’s 2-1 defeat, with the Galatasaray boss falling to the pitch and holding his face in his hands.
Buruk was lying on his back as former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho was dragged away from the remarkable flashpoint.
Responding to the coming together, Fenerbahce released a statement that read:
“Okan Buruk, who approached our technical director, Jose Mourinho, who was meeting with the referees after the match yesterday, under the pretext of shaking their hands, provoked our technical director with hand gestures and statements, and had the audacity to make disrespectful hand gestures after crossing the police line.
“After our technical director momentarily touched his nose in response to these provocations, the person in question threw himself on the ground in an exaggerated manner.
“The disrespectful words and actions of this person, who professionally threw himself to the ground as if he had been ‘shot’ as a continuation of his planned and excessive provocations, are recorded with images.
“The meaninglessness and the acting of a person who jumps to the ground and writhes for seconds when his nose is touched is known to the entire public.
“It is obvious that the images of this person throwing himself to the ground from his football career continued in his career as a coach and that this attitude is a characteristic stance.
“It is clear that the evaluation of the ugly provocations and what happened afterwards should not be one-sided, but should be based on a cause-and-effect relationship.”
Sky Sports News has contacted Galatasaray for comment.
Mourinho had just seen his side crash out of the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup after Victor Osimhen sent Galatasaray on their way to victory with a first-half brace.
Sebastian Szymanski pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time but Buruk’s side saw out the ill-tempered win, which saw three players sent off in stoppage time.
Mert Hakan Yandas was dismissed for Fenerbahce, with Kerem Demirbay and Baris Alper Yilmaz also seeing red for the visitors.
After the game, Galatasaray tweeted a picture of Buruk and Mourinho captioned: “You should not attack, you should digest!” The Turkish club also posted a cartoon video mocking Mourinho with the caption: “Galatasaray drives you crazy.”
Buruk: Mourinho pinched my nose
Galatasaray boss Buruk later said Mourinho grabbing his face in the aftermath of their Turkish Cup win over Fenerbahce was “not a big deal” but added it was “not a very nice thing”.
“There was nothing between me [and Mourinho],” Buruk said in quotes reported on the club website.
“I just congratulated the referees. He had also gone to congratulate the referees. While I was continuing, he pinched my nose from behind. It was a slight scratch.
“It’s not a very nice or stylish thing. We want to stay in the game. We especially want and expect the behaviour of the technical staff to be more correct here.
“I won’t exaggerate this but it’s not a very stylish thing. We should have shaken each other’s hands before the match. Unfortunately we couldn’t experience that. It’s not a big deal. I won’t exaggerate this.”
Mourinho’s Fenerbahce are six points behind Galatasaray in the Super Lig with a game in hand.