Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho made headlines for all the wrong reasons on Wednesday after his team’s 2-1 loss to fierce rivals Galatasaray in the Turkish Cup quarter-finals.
The fiery encounter took a dramatic turn after the final whistle, when Mourinho, visibly enraged, grabbed the face of Galatasaray’s Okan Buruk. In a tense moment, Mourinho briefly squeezed Buruk’s nose, causing the Turkish coach to collapse to the ground, clutching his face in apparent shock.
The match, which already had plenty of drama, saw a total of three red cards—one for Fenerbahce and two for Galatasaray—in the final minutes.
This high-stakes rivalry, with Fenerbahce sitting second in the Turkish league and Galatasaray at the top as defending champions, has been a powder keg of emotions. Mourinho, who joined the Turkish side last summer, has had a history of controversial moments in his short tenure. In February, he was banned for four matches and fined for his fiery comments following a league loss to Galatasaray, where he criticized the referees and made racially charged remarks about the opposing bench, which he later denied.
