Fenerbahce's Jose Mourinho under fire; Galatasaray accuse him of racism

Galatasaray announced plans to take legal action against Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho, accusing him of making "racist statements" following their 0-0 draw in the Istanbul derby on Monday.

The club stated it would "initiate criminal proceedings" and file official complaints with UEFA and FIFA but did not specify which comments they were referring to.

During his post-match press conference, Mourinho criticised Turkish referees and said the Galatasaray bench had been "jumping like monkeys" after a first-minute incident involving Fenerbahce’s 19-year-old defender Yusuf Akcicek.

"With a Turkish referee, you would have a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes, I would have to change him," Mourinho said.

The match was officiated by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic after both clubs had requested a foreign official. Mourinho later visited the referee's dressing room and said to the fourth official, "If you were a referee, this match would be a disaster."

In a statement, Galatasaray accused Mourinho of "persistently issuing derogatory statements" towards Turkish people and claimed his comments had now crossed into "inhumane rhetoric."

"Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people," the statement read.

"Today, his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric. We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho."

Mourinho, who was appointed Fenerbahce manager last summer, has been vocal about refereeing standards in Turkey, calling the environment "toxic." Before the match, he welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign official, saying it was "important for credibility."

Neither Mourinho nor Fenerbahce has responded to Galatasaray’s accusations.