Following what has been categorised as controversial officiating in the Turkish Super Lig, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has shocked fans with his comments on the league. Mourinho seemed in high spirits in the 102nd minute after Manchester United loanee Sofyan Amrabat scored a last-minute winner.
Former United player Fred had initially put Fenerbahce in the lead, but Trabzonspor took the advantage through two penalties converted by Simon Banza. Edin Dzeko then leveled the score in the 75th minute, paving the way for Amrabat’s late heroics, which led to exuberant celebrations—including a failed knee-slide attempt by Mourinho, who slipped and fell.
However, Mourinho’s upbeat mood soured by the time he reached the post-game press conference.
Mourinho didn’t mince words, bluntly saying, “Nobody abroad wants to watch the Turkish league. Who wants to watch this Turkish league abroad? They have the Premier League, they have the French league, they have the German league, they have the Portuguese league, they have the Dutch league. Why should they see this? It’s too grey. It’s too dark, smells bad. But that’s my job, and I will give everything to my job, to my club.”
Mourinho was also highly critical of the officiating, specifically VAR official Atilla Karaoglan. After Fenerbahce conceded two penalties, Mourinho was livid when Karaoglan didn’t call for a penalty for Fenerbahce in the 82nd minute, despite Banza handling the ball in the box. He stated, “We were in good control, winning 1-0 when Atilla woke up because in the first half he was probably having Turkish tea. Not to say an alcoholic drink, so probably was Turkish tea.”
He added, “I don’t think abroad many people watch the Turkish league. I think in London only my son watches the Turkish league, nobody else. I’m going to post on my Instagram. I don’t have many [followers] but I think more than five million will watch more of that penalty. So they will know what the Turkish league is.”
Mourinho’s video on Instagram
True to his word, Mourinho shared footage of Banza’s handball on Instagram, which amassed over 704,000 likes in less than 17 hours. Alongside the video replays, he wrote, “Watch and smile. If you like it, watch the game because the funny situations don’t stop with this clip.”
In a live TV interview immediately after the game, Mourinho continued his tirade, saying, “I blame the Fenerbahce people that brought me here. They told me only half of the truth. They didn’t tell me the whole truth because if they told me the whole truth, I wouldn’t come. But, with half of the truth and my boys, we fight opponents and the system. The man of the match was Atilla Karaoglan. We didn’t see him but he was the referee. The referee was just a little boy that was there on the pitch, but the referee was Atilla Karaoglan.”
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