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Drogba defends ‘dad’ Jose Mourinho after Galatasaray’s racism accusations

Drogba defends 'dad' Jose Mourinho after Galatasaray's racism accusations Didier Drogba played for Galatasaray between 2013-2014. (Ozan Gundogdu - IHA)
By Newsroom
Feb 26, 2025 4:47 PM

Former Galatasaray baller Didier Drogba reacted to his former team’s racism accusation for Fenerbahce’s head coach Jose Mourinho following the latter’s remarks.

During a press conference following the crucial derby with Galatasaray on February 24, Mourinho made the inflammatory remark, “Everyone on the other bench was jumping like monkeys.”

Mourinho alleged that Galatasaray attempted to pressure the referee into showing a card to Fenerbahce’s young defender Yusuf Akcicek early in the match. He commented, “I have to thank the referee because, in that situation, everyone on the other bench was jumping like monkeys.”

While Galatasaray announced intention to launch a legal case against Mourinho, ‘an old friend’ from British football team Chelsea showed support.

Drogba defends 'dad' Jose Mourinho after Galatasaray's racism accusations
Didier Drogba’s tweet (Screenshot from personal account / @didierdrogba)

Former Galatasaray star Drogba wrote on personal X account, ”I’ve seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho. Trust me when I tell you I have known Jose for xx years and he is not a racist and history (past and recent ) is there to prove it. Let’s focus on our games, support our brilliant lions and let’s win the league to get close to our 5. How can my ‘Dad’ be a racist.”

Drogba defends 'dad' Jose Mourinho after Galatasaray's racism accusations
Photo illustration shows Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho and Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk alongside their teams. (Collage by Türkiye Today/Mehmet Akbas)

Fenerbahce defended Mourinho

Fenerbahce issued an official statement defending Mourinho, asserting that his words were deliberately misconstrued.

“A post-match remark made by our Coach, Jose Mourinho, has been deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.” the club said in a statement. “As any reasonable person can clearly recognize, the expression used by Jose Mourinho was solely intended to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team’s technical staff to the referee’s decisions during the match. These remarks cannot, under any circumstances, be associated with racism.”

Last Updated:  Feb 26, 2025 4:53 PM