Jose Mourinho was unable to hide his frustration after being sent off during Fenerbahce’s draw with Manchester United on Thursday.
Christian Eriksen temporarily silenced Fenerbahce’s febrile support but old foe Youssef En-Nesyri secured a 1-1 draw against a United side that have now won just one of their last 11 European games.
But it was the Mourinho show, with his touchline dramatics straying over the mark in the view of referee Clement Turpin as the hosts sought a spot-kick.
The Portuguese, who coached United between mid-2016 and late 2018, was sent to stands for his protests after Bright Osayi-Samuel was denied a penalty following a challenge by Manuel Ugarte.
On the incident, Mourinho told TNT: “I watched the incident. I don’t want to speak about it.”
On going to see the referee, Mourinho added: “He told me something incredible. At the same time, he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline.
“I congratulate him because he’s absolutely incredible.
“During the game, at 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation, and he had one eye on the bench and on my behaviour.
“That’s the explanation he gave me. That’s why he is one of the best referees in the world.”
Mourinho suggests it is time for him to abandon European football
Mourinho continued in a similar vein when he arrived at the packed post-match press conference, where he admitted it might be best to soon stop competing in European club competitions.
“I think the best thing I have to do is, when I leave Fenerbahce, I go to a club that doesn’t play UEFA competitions,” he added.
“So if any club in England, from the bottom of the table, needs a coach in two years, I’m ready to go.
“And I don’t want to say anything more about it. I want to speak about the game. We played absolutely fantastic against a team, in theory, from a superior level. We played fantastic.”
Mourinho said “I don’t think anything” when pushed for his opinion about the penalty decision and laughed off suggestions he could appeal his sending off.
“If I appeal, I will get six months’ ban, so there is nothing to do,” he said. “Since Sevilla-Roma final (in the 2023 Conference League), there is nothing to do. It is what it is.
“That’s why I say if the future is maybe better without European competitions, so I don’t get upset. It is what it is.”
In pictures: Jose Mourinho sent off
Mourinho: A good result for Man Utd
Mourinho watched the rest of the game in the stands as his side held out for a point as United blew a lead on a fourth straight European trip.
United have made a stumbling start to the new-look competition, with a shock home draw with Twente followed by a stoppage-time goal saving them from defeat in Porto, and Mourinho insisted the result in Istanbul was a good one for his former side.
“They got a point against us, not us against them,” Mourinho said. “We played amazing. If we play like this in the Turkish league we destroy everything because of course we played against a team with superior level than us. The Premier League has more quality, more intensity and more everything.
“I think my boys did an amazing match. Probably in England people will speak of two or three players for Manchester United who did not play, you do not know how many of us didn’t play. At the start we had four players out of the list, and we had injuries. We had to do a crazy puzzle. Our performance was extraordinary. I could not ask any more from the players.
“Andre Onana made two fantastic saves. They scored in a situation we knew they could. We had a phenomenal performance.
“Come on, he saved the result. My goalkeeper didn’t make a save, he made two impossible saves in 10 seconds. He was the most decisive player in the result. Of course he didn’t make 20 saves but he made two that were incredible.”
“I know English media will say Manchester United didn’t play well but I think it would be fair to say we did an extraordinary match and we were better than them. A good result for Manchester United.”