Jose Mourinho Condemns Turkey's Super League Again: Scandal Has Measured

JAKARTA - Fenerbahce coach, Jose Mourinho, criticized the referee in the Turkish Super League (Super Lig) and said there was a toxic environment after Galatasaray's controversial win over Goztepe 2-1 on Saturday, January 4, 2025.

Goztepe felt he was being treated unfairly by the referee's decision so the club issued a statement after the match.

They asked for a temporary foreign referee system to be formed and wanted a viable league winner.

Mourinho also interfered with the incident after he led Fenerbahce to a 2-1 win against Hatayspor on Sunday, January 5, 2025.

"Everyone said the same thing, scandal, scandal. I learned new words (in Turkish)."

"I think some of you (media) like it. In fact, the winners love it, which is the worst of all."

"Because winning in any way and winning in this way is the worst thing," said Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach said he was worried about what he called the "system" in the strong-rooted Super Lig.

"In terms of feeling something toxic, we feel it, of course. After 25 years of being a coach and 35 years of working in the world of football, 10 years as an assistant, I've never seen anything like this."

"It has dimensions that go beyond anything that can be understood. I don't think this is a situation that would destroy a very strong and existing system."

"This is the league where I work, it will be my league, hopefully for at least two years."

"However, this is your league. It's a league of every child who loves football, who dreams of becoming a footballer."

"If you are happy with this status quo, then be happy. I don't think it's something the club can solve individually," Mourinho said again.

Meanwhile, Mourinho, who took over Fenerbahce in the summer with the aim of getting them the first league title in a decade, also criticized the referee for his team's last two games.

"In the last two games, we talked about the five red cards that our opponents should have shown."

"The opponent knows how they can play against us. Our players feel it," said Mourinho.

"We can only work as hard as we do. To reduce the gap, we need to win the game and we need the leaders of the standings to lose points."

"I think we will win the game. We will be better than now. However, how will they (Galatasaray) lose points, that's the question, how about?" said Mourinho.

Galatasaray is eight points ahead of Fenerbahce at the top of the Super Lig standings. This situation made it difficult for Mourinho to realize his dream of getting a league title.

Previously, the Portuguese coach had also made a statement that there was a "system" in Super Lig that really wanted Galatasaray to win.