ISTANBUL (AP) — Fenerbahce accused the coach of fierce rival Galatasaray of throwing himself to the ground as if he’d been “shot” after his nose appeared to be pinched by Jose Mourinho in the latest controversy to rock Turkish soccer.
After Galatasaray’s 2-1 win over Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup on Wednesday, Mourinho — Fenerbahce’s storied coach — reached out from behind Galatasaray counterpart Okan Buruk and made contact with his nose. Buruk fell to the ground holding his face before Mourinho was escorted away.
In a long statement by Fenerbahce on social media site X, Fenerbahce accused Buruk of provoking Mourinho by making “disrespectful hand gestures” toward him after the match.
Fenerbahce said Mourinho touched Buruk’s nose in response to what it perceived to be “planned, excessive provocations” and that Buruk “professionally threw himself to the ground with a ‘shot’ reflex as a continuation of this plan.”
Later in the statement, Fenerbahce said this was a “characteristic stance” of Buruk, alleging that “images of this person throwing himself to the ground from his football career continued in his technical directorship career.”
Buruk is a former Turkey international who also played for Galatasaray and Inter Milan during his career.
After Wednesday’s match, Buruk said Mourinho’s conduct was “not a very nice and stylish thing” and that he suffered a “slight scratch.” Galatasaray vice president Metin Ozturk said the incident was “not only an attack on Galatasaray’s coach but also on Turkish football.”
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