04.04.2025 16:02
Galatasaray released a striking statement regarding Fenerbahçe's coach Jose Mourinho, who squeezed their head coach Okan Buruk's nose after the derby match. In the statement, the yellow-red club expressed, "We are saddened to witness the pathetic situation they have fallen into today, after trying to give us a lesson in ethics yesterday. Once again, we feel ashamed on behalf of them and Turkish football."
After Galatasaray's 2-1 victory over Fenerbahçe in the quarter-finals of the Ziraat Turkey Cup, which led them to the semi-finals, Jose Mourinho's act of squeezing Okan Buruk's nose made headlines worldwide. The yellow-reds responded to the yellow-blues' statement regarding the incident by releasing a statement about Mourinho.
"WE ARE ASHAMED"
Galatasaray's statement is as follows;
"The damage caused to Turkish football by the rival team's head coach, who came with the hope of contributing to Turkish football, has been growing like an avalanche for the last 8 months. We are saddened that we have to respond to a statement that mocks the intelligence of the Turkish football community instead of this person, who is registered in the world football community for such disgraceful incidents in the past, coming out and apologizing."
May no one be forced to defend a disgraceful attack in the name of sports that has occurred in front of the world's eyes, just so that their head coach receives a lighter penalty. We are watching with sadness the pathetic situation that those who tried to give us a lesson in ethics yesterday have fallen into today, and we are once again ashamed on behalf of them and Turkish football.
Galatasaray Sports Club"
DID FENERBAHÇE ALSO MAKE A STATEMENT?
In a written statement titled "Mandatory Statement" regarding the incident, Fenerbahçe included the following remarks;
This is our statement regarding Okan Buruk, who approached our head coach Jose Mourinho under the pretext of shaking hands with the referees after the match, provoking our head coach with hand gestures and words, and had the audacity to make disrespectful hand gestures after crossing the police line.
After our head coach momentarily touched his nose in response to these provocations, the relevant individual exaggeratedly threw himself to the ground.
The disrespectful words and actions of this individual, who fell to the ground in a "bullet-hit" reflex after exceeding his limits with planned provocations, are documented with footage.
The absurdity of a person who is touched on the nose jumping to the ground and writhing for seconds, as well as the acting involved, is well known to the public.
It is evident that this individual's tendency to throw himself to the ground has continued from his playing days into his coaching career, and this attitude is a characteristic stance.
It is clear that the evaluation of the ugly provocations and the subsequent events should not be one-sided but should be made with a cause-and-effect relationship.
WHAT HAPPENED?
After the match, Jose Mourinho confronted Okan Buruk in front of the referees, physically intervening by squeezing Buruk's nose, leaving Buruk on the ground. Irfan Can Kahveci, who was with the Portuguese coach during the incident, tried to help Okan Buruk. The experienced coach became very angry after getting up from the ground and was calmed down with difficulty by those around him.
WHAT DID OKAN BURUK SAY?
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk stated regarding the incident after the match, "There was nothing between me and him. I congratulated the referees, and he congratulated them too. He intervened from behind as I was leaving. I got a scratch on my nose. I won't exaggerate, but it wasn't a nice thing. We should have shaken hands before and after the match, but as I said, it's not that important. I won't exaggerate what happened."