Jose Mourinho says he ‘felt disrespected’ after he was forced to wait over an hour to face the press in the wake of Fenerbahce’s 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Galatasaray at the weekend.
Goals from Dominik Livakovic, Dries Mertens and Gabriel Sara sealed Galatasaray a comfortable victory in Saturday’s one-sided derby at Istanbul’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
It was Mourinho’s first loss in the Turkish top flight since taking charge as Fenerbahce’s new head coach to great fanfare in the summer – and ‘The Special One’ cut a frustrated figure on the touchline for the most part.
In the aftermath, Mourinho was in no mood to hang around and speak with the media, with the Portuguese claiming he was made to wait 70 minutes for Okan Buruk’s press conference to wind down.
The legendary former Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid boss has since been slapped with a €4,000 (£3,350) by the Super Lig for skipping his post-match media duties.
‘I waited for the Okan Buruk press conference. It didn’t end. I didn’t disrespect anyone, on the contrary, I felt disrespected,’ Mourinho explained earlier today.
‘In 24 years I have never run away from a press conference or a question.
‘I had to wait at the door because they wouldn’t let me in.
‘I understand that the visiting coach goes to the press conference first, but there are limits.
‘I waited 70 minutes that day. As I did with Goztepe, when I’m a visitor I go to the press conference first, but I can’t wait 70-75 minutes.’
Fenerbahce will look to get back to winning ways when they return to action against Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gillois in the Europa League tomorrow evening.
Mourinho’s men will then look to bounce back from Saturday’s Super Lig defeat to Galatasaray with victory away to Antalyaspor on Sunday.
The club’s loss at the weekend came in Mourinho’s tenth game at the helm since taking over the reins from Ismail Kartal back in June.
Saturday’s result means Galatasaray hold a five-point lead over Fenerbahce at the top of the Super Lig table ahead of their clash with Kasimpasa.
Galatasaray’s official X account took great pleasure in mocking Mourinho ahead of their meeting with Fenerbahce, branding the 61-year-old ‘The Crying One’ alongside a picture of the Portuguese in tears.
A separate post – shared after the derby – displayed a photograph of their manager, Buruk, staring down Mourinho with the caption ‘The winner one’.
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