Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has found himself in hot water once again after pinching the nose of Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk after last night’s cup defeat to Fenerbahce’s great rivals.
The Portuguese coach is no stranger to controversy and has been involved in numerous incidents in his career.
He famously poked Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova in the eye in 2011 during a particularly heated grudge match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona when he was manager of los Blancos.
Mourinho has also caused numerous controversies in Turkiye as he has been exceptionally critical of the refereeing standards in the league and he was accused of racism by Galatasaray in recent months.
The bad blood continued as Mourinho launched a law suit against the club as he believed the accusations infringed on his personal rights.
The incident yesterday could see massive implications for the former United boss.
His side lost a bad-tempered quarter final of the Turkish cup 2-1 to their biggest rivals and there were three red cards during the match.
The BBC report that “Galatasaray have accused Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho of ‘physically attacking’ their manager Okan Buruk after he appeared to grab his nose following a fiery derby in the Turkish Cup.”
Both managers were in the centre of the pitch after the match, communicating with the referees when the incident took place. Mourinho approached Okan from behind and grabbed his nose.
It resulted in the Galatasaray manager falling to the ground and writhing in pain as Mourinho walked away and naturally, the incident sparked a reaction from the Galatasaray coaching staff.
Galatasaray’s vice-president Metin Ozturk claimed, “our manager Okan and Mourinho congratulated the referees. After that, while Okan was continuing, Mourinho first verbally and then physically attacked him. Where else in the world can he do this? What does he think of Turkey?”
Commenting on the unsavoury moment Okan stated, “there was nothing between me and Mourinho. He pinched my nose from behind. There was a slight scratch. Of course, it wasn’t a very nice or elegant thing to do.”
“We expect managers to behave more appropriately in such situations. I won’t exaggerate this issue, but it wasn’t a classy move.”
Mourinho did not attend the post-match press conferences but the story is far from over as he is likely to face severe repercussions from his own side and the Turkish football association.
Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho to Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk. pic.twitter.com/BF7hk23AFF
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) April 2, 2025
Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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