06.04.2025 18:20
Fenerbahçe's head coach Jose Mourinho spoke before the match against Trabzonspor. The Portuguese coach, who made statements for the first time after the controversial Galatasaray derby, clarified his squad choices and his decision not to include Filip Kostic in the lineup. Notably, Mourinho did not address the incident involving Okan Buruk, where he squeezed Buruk's nose.
Fenerbahçe's head coach Jose Mourinho made statements before the Trabzonspor match. Mourinho explained the reason for not including Filip Kostic in the squad.
"I MADE A LOT OF CHANGES TODAY"
The Portuguese coach said, "We had 3 days to prepare for this match. Trabzonspor also had 3 days. The conditions were equal. We had 2 days to prepare for the match against Samsun. That match was very, very tough. The players need to cope with this situation. I made a lot of changes today. I thought we needed a change of energy, fresh legs. The match on Wednesday required a lot of energy," he said.
REASON FOR NOT INCLUDING KOSTIC IN THE SQUAD
Mourinho, in response to a question about Filip Kostic, who was not included in the squad for the Trabzonspor match, said, "We have 14 foreigners, and we can write 12 players in the squad. Carlos was injured, so he couldn't be in the squad. I had to leave one player out of the squad. It was not an easy decision at all. It was important for these players to be in the squad even if they were not in the starting 11. There is never a situation in our team where a player is left out of the squad due to reasons like punishment or performance. A decision needs to be made. I made this decision because I thought we needed fresher players today," he replied.
HE DID NOT MENTION THE INCIDENT WITH OKAN BURUK
On the other hand, it was noteworthy that the Portuguese coach did not mention the incident where he squeezed Okan Buruk's nose after the Galatasaray derby in the quarter-finals of the Ziraat Turkey Cup. Mourinho, who was referred to the PFDK for "attack," was punished with 3 matches for "unsportsmanlike conduct." The experienced coach will not serve this penalty in the Super League.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
In the quarter-finals of the Ziraat Turkey Cup, the Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray derby played in Kadıköy was won 2-1 by the yellow-reds, securing their place in the semi-finals. After the match, Jose Mourinho confronted Okan Buruk in front of the referees, physically intervening and squeezing Buruk's nose, causing Buruk to fall to the ground. During the incident, Irfan Can Kahveci, who was with the Portuguese coach, tried to help Okan Buruk. The experienced coach became very angry after getting up and was calmed down with difficulty by those around him. Additionally, the match referee Cihan Aydın issued a total of 7 red cards for various reasons, including to Mourinho.