Jose Mourinho appeared to pinch the nose of Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk after his Fenerbahce team were knocked out of the Turkish Cup in a fiery match on Wednesday.
In footage widely shared on social media, Mourinho appears to reach out from behind his opponent and make contact with his nose. Buruk then falls to the ground holding his face before Mourinho is escorted away.
Three players were sent off in the Istanbul derby at Fenerbahce’s stadium. Galatasary won 2-1.
Photo: AP
“He squeezed my nose from behind while I was going on. There was a slight scratch. Of course, it’s not a very nice and stylish thing,” Buruk said after the quarter-final. “I won’t exaggerate about it, but it’s not a very stylish thing.”
Galatasaray vice president Metin Ozturk was not so restrained in his response to a fresh controversy involving the outspoken Mourinho.
“The latest incident is not only an attack on Galatasaray’s coach, but also on Turkish football. This is Mourinho, I don’t know where he gets this courage,” he said.
Mourinho in February was accused by Galatasaray of making racist comments after another match involving the Istanbul rivals. Galatasaray said he had used “unequivocally inhumane rhetoric” after he referred to the opposition bench “jumping around like monkeys.”
Fenerbahce rejected the accusation and then said it had filed a lawsuit against Galatasaray for an “attack on the personal rights” of Mourinho.
Galatasaray reveled in their victory and posted a picture on social media of a smiling Buruk looking in Mourinho’s direction.
“YOU SHOULD NOT ATTACK, YOU SHOULD DIGEST!” was the message accompanying the picture along with a shushing emoji.
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