By Canadian Press

Jose Mourinho banned for four matches and fined after Turkish referees comment

Feb 27, 2025 | 8:31 PM

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was given a four-match ban and fined by the Turkish Football Federation following his comments about Turkish referees after a match at Galatasaray.

The Turkish federation on Thursday fined the 62-year-old Portuguese coach 1.6 million Turkish lira ($44,000) after he criticized the match officials in a media conference following a 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday.

Mourinho served one of his suspended four games on Thursday when he was absent from the bench for Fenerbahce’s 4-1 Turkish Cup win at Gaziantep.

Britain’s Sky Sports News said Fenerbahce had appealed the four-game ban. It means that if Fenerbahce’s appeal is unsuccessful, he will miss their next three domestic games.

In his post-match interview on Monday, Mourinho welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign referee for the game and also praised Slavko Vincic of Slovenia for a “top performance.”

Tariff threat

Premier Scott Moe believes tariffs can be avoided after Washington D.C. trip

6m ago

junior hockey

SJHL's La Ronge Ice Wolves relocating to nearby First Nation next season

Feb 27, 2025

Snow clearing

Snow clearing efforts continue in Melfort as warmer weather arrives

Feb 26, 2025

Mourinho said he’d gone to see the referee and thank him following the game. When he saw the fourth official — a Turkish referee — Mourinho said he told him: “If you are the referee … would be a disaster.”

Asked about a challenge early in the match, he said a Turkish referee would have reacted with a yellow card “after the big dive and their bench jumping around like monkeys.”

The Turkish federation said the ban and fine were instituted due to “derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee” and accusations of chaos and disorder in Turkish football.

It said Mourinho’s remarks violated sports ethics, promoted violence and disorder and could incite fan incidents.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press