José Mourinho made another slip-up last week and has therefore been banned by the Turkish association TFF – but the punishment was relatively lenient.
As the TFF announced on Saturday afternoon, the Portuguese coach of Fenerbahce Istanbul has been banned from the next three cup matches. In addition, the 62-year-old must also pay a fine of 7,000 euros.
Mourinho caused a stir after Fener’s 2-1 defeat in the heated cup quarter-final against arch-rivals Galatasaray Istanbul. Pictures show Mourinho grabbing Gala coach Okan Buruk from behind in the face and roughly grabbing his nose.
As the association announced, Mourinho’s action was judged to be “unsportsmanlike behavior”. In this way, Mourinho got off lightly, because if his outburst had been judged to be an “assault”, he would have had to sit out as many as five games.
Not the first misconduct by Mourinho
In doing so, the TFF even took into account Mourinho’s previous history, according to its own statements. This is not the first time that Mourinho, who only signed with Fenerbahce last summer, has attracted negative attention. Last fall, he was heavily criticized by the referee, which earned him a one-match suspension and a €11,600 fine.
And just in February, after the league game against Galatasaray, the Fener coach was accused of racism. Although Mourinho vehemently denied this, the TFF initially imposed a four-match ban and a fine of €42,000. However, the penalty was later reduced to a two-match suspension and a €14,200 fine.
Nevertheless, this was the third time this season that Mourinho has been sanctioned for misconduct – although the extent of the punishment imposed by the association appears to be very lenient. Since Fenerbahce no longer has to play in any cup games this season, the verdict that has now been reached will have no further impact on Mourinho’s activities at Fener. He would only have to sit out the domestic cup in the coming season.
League last title chance for Fener
However, the Turkish Süper Lig is Fener’s only chance of winning a title this season. Fener has already lost out to Glasgow Rangers in the Europa League round of 16, before the domestic cup. Before the game against Trabzon, Mourinho’s team are six points behind league leaders Galatasaray, although they have also played a game less.
