Mourinho controversy as Fenerbahçe coach pinches nose of opponent Okan Buruk [video]
Fenerbahçe 1-2 Galatasaray
Istanbul giants Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray met in the Turkish Cup quarter-final on Wednesday evening, with the game overshadowed by José Mourinho’s actions after the final whistle.
Visitors Galatasaray overcame Mourinho’s side 2-1 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, but Mourinho pinched the nose of opposite number Okan Buruk, who collapsed on the touchline, leading to worldwide coverage of the incident.
Gala started the more brightly and went ahead in the 10th minute when star striker Victor Osimhen lashed the ball past Irfan Eğribayat with a clinical finish. A controversial moment came on 15 minutes when Galatasaray defender Kaan Ayhan kicked the ball against his own hand in the penalty area, but Fener’s intense appeals for a penalty were waved away.
Not long after Fener’s appeal, the visitors were given a penalty for handball against Filip Kostić, from which Osimhen scored his second. Sebastian Szymański pulled one back for Fener on the stroke of half time, but there would be no further goals and Gala held on despite 11 minutes of stoppage time including a goal-line clearance and another penalty appeal in the dying seconds.
If the match ended full of action, the entertainment continued when the coaches clashed on the touchline. Mourinho approached Okan Buruk and appeared to pinch his nose, with the Gala boss collapsing to the floor ahead of an inevitable scrum of players and coaching from each side.
So José Mourinho did this to Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk after losing in the Turkish Cup
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) April 2, 2025
pic.twitter.com/H7ItQwEpFr
“I’m not going to exaggerate it” - Buruk
The images went viral across the world within minutes, but Mourinho did not speak to the media after the match. Victorious Buruk did offer his version of events, taking a different approach from the one he displayed on the field and attempting to downplay the incident. “I congratulated the referees,” said Buruk. “He [José Mourinho] had also gone to congratulate the referees. As I continued, he pinched my nose with his hand from behind. I got a slight scratch there.
“Of course it’s not a nice thing to do, it’s not a classy thing to do. We want and hope that the coaches behave more correctly, but I’m not going to exaggerate too much. It wasn’t a nice thing to do. I think we should have shaken hands before and after the game, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
“It’s not very important, I’m not going to exaggerate too much,” he concluded.
By @SeanGillen9