November 11 – If Jose Mourinho isn’t getting injured by his own players, or involved with on-field spats he’s having a quiet day. However, after putting Turkish football as a whole on blast, the ‘Special One’ has been issued a one-match ban and fined.
The Fenerbache coach in his first season with the Istanbul outfit has become increasingly frustrated with everything Turkish, and has claimed publicly that he has to fight “the system” while suggesting that officials are biased against his team.
This latest outburst has led to the Turkish Football Federation’s (TFF) disciplinary board to describe Mourinho’s comments as unsportsmanlike while finning him 900,000 Turkish lira ($26,200) for questioning the impartiality of referees and other match officials.
As well as the lira coming out of the pockets of the two-time UEFA Champions League winner, the board banned him for one match and additionally fined him 58,500 lira ($1,700) for unsportsmanlike conduct toward opposing fans. The ban also prevents Mourinho from entering his team’s locker room. He served the ban Sunday, with Fenerbahce beating Sivasspor 4-0.
Turkish football has long been surrounded in controversy with biased officiating claims usually lobbed at Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Fenerbache by the rest of the Turkish Super Liga.
Mourinho said: “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.”
On Thursday Mourinho was in the stands as Fenerbahce lost 3-1 at AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League, why? He was serving a one-match ban after his red card received against one of his former employers, Manchester United.
The 61-year-old Mourinho said he would go coach a team that doesn’t play in a UEFA competition: “So you find a club in England from the bottom of the table [that] needs a coach in two years, I’m ready to go.”
After 10 league games of this current season, Fenerbahce trail leader and arch-rival Galatasaray by five points, and it feels like it’ll be a one and done for Mourinho.
With Newcastle United waiting in the wings, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the ‘Special One’ fly off to St. James’ Park next season.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734914714labto1734914714ofdlr1734914714owedi1734914714sni@o1734914714fni1734914714