Fenerbahce head coach Jose Mourinho, right, argues with a referee during the Europa League opening phase soccer match between Fenerbahce and Manchester United at Sukru Saracoglu stadium, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Some of Jose Mourinho’s greatest post-game rants have occurred with the theme of David against Goliath at its heart. His post-game words, often unhinged and usually blurted out when a perceived sense of injustice has taken place, have been recycled in different iterations at different clubs. Now at Fenerbahce, Mourinho let out another set of fiery words, this time against VAR and against the ‘system’.
“Today, the man of the match was [VAR referee] Atilla Karaoglan. We didn’t see him, but he was the referee of the match. The referee was just a little boy who was there on the pitch, but the referee was Atilla Karaoglan. He went from the invisible man to the most important man of the match. I speak on behalf of all Fenerbahce fans: we don’t want him again. We don’t want him because it smells bad. We don’t want him. We don’t want him on the pitch, but on the VAR even less,” ranted Mourinho after Fenerbahce won 2-3 thanks to a 102nd minute goal from Sofyan Amrabat.
Trabzonspor received two penalties against Mourinho’s team, both of which came via the Virtual Assistant Referee system. Fenerbahce were denied a penalty shout of their own late in the game. But Amrabat’s winner twelve minutes into injury time sparked off and all-time great rant from a man known to make them.
Jose Mourinho says the Turkish league “smells bad” and nobody watches it 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZLRbsoNVbh
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 4, 2024
“I know what I was told, even before I came. I didn’t believe. It’s even worse than I was told. But I prefer to be on this side. It’s more difficult. It’s more difficult because we play against good opponents like Trabzonspor is: good opponent with lots of good players and a historical coach. But we play against a system. And to play against a system is the most difficult thing. Tonight we play against a good team, against a strong atmosphere, against VAR, and against a system. So very hard. That’s why we celebrated this victory so much.
“It’s unbelievable to win this match against so many powerful people. We are not going to give up. We know what we have. I blame the Fenerbahce people that brought me here! They told me only half of the truth. If they told me the whole truth I wouldn’t come! But with half of the truth, with my boys we fight the opponent, we fight the system,” said Mourinho.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 04-11-2024 at 18:13 IST
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