Jose Mourinho was issued a three-game suspension by the Turkish Football Federation for grabbing the nose of Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk following the Istanbul derby on Wednesday.
Additionally, the longtime manager was fined approximately 6,000 pounds (equivalent to $7,700 U.S. dollars) for the incident.
Mourinho is in his first year with the Süper Lig's Fenerbahçe was penalized "due to his unsportsmanlike conduct towards an opponent," according to a statement from the TFF.
Fenerbahçe lost, 2-1, to Galatasaray in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals. During stoppage time, a scuffle broke out between the two clubs resulting in three players being ejected. When the match was over, Mourinho then went after Buruk and pinched his nose, which perhaps led to less severe of an injury than the Galatasaray manager indicated through his body language.
MOURINHO'DAN OKAN BURUK'A FİZİKSEL MÜDAHALE! pic.twitter.com/YLlNiSxIwQ
— Fotomaç (@fotomac) April 2, 2025
"Mourinho shall be banned from entering the dressing room and the bench for three official matches," the TFF statement added. The three matches Mourinho will miss are against Trabzonspor, Sivasspor and Kayserispor.
Fenerbahçe are second in the Süper Lig, trailing Galatasaray by six points.
The three-game ban is not the first penalty issued to Mourinho during his first season in the Turkish soccer league. He received a four-game suspension and was fined 32,000 pounds ($42,000) for criticizing officials after Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray previously played in February, saying "if a Turkish ref had refereed this match, it would have been a disaster."
Galatasaray also alleged that Mourinho made racist remarks ("unequivocally inhumane rhetoric") toward the players on their bench, saying they were "jumping around like monkeys." Fenerbahçe and Mourinho sued in response, arguing that the accusations were an "attack on the personal rights" of the coach and asked for $52,000 in damages.
Fenerbahce will next play on Sunday versus Trabzonspor, but their manager now won't be a part of that match.
