Fernabahce boss Jose Mourinho has been issued a ban by the Turkish Football Federation for his comments aimed at Atilla Karaoglan who was the VAR official during his team’s dramatic 3-2 win against Trabzonspor last weekend.
A last minute goal by Sofyan Amrabat secured the win for Mourinho’s men, who had fought hard from a goal deficit after conceding two goals from the spot to snatch all three points.
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Mourinho’s rant after Trabzonspor game
Despite the victory, the Portuguese manager expressed his dissatisfaction at the two penalties given against his team, calling out the VAR in this regard.
“Today, the man of the match was [VAR referee] Atilla Karaoglan, Mourinho said, per Football London.
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 an 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.”
The 61-year-old gaffer continued, as he accused the officials of sabotaging his teams efforts, saying,
“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. We played against a good team, against a strong atmosphere, against VAR – and against the system.
TFF issues fine and ban to Mourinho for his comments
The TFF have now responded to Mourinho’s rant, slapping a substantial fine and additional sanctions in a statement relayed by Goal, which read,
“The post-match flash interview and press conference are evaluated as a whole; the statements in question are contrary to sportsmanship, sports ethics or the concept of fair play, damage the reputation of the TFF, aim to diminish the value of Turkish football, cast a shadow over the impartiality of the referees and other match officials, and are therefore punished with a discretionary fine of 900,000 TL (£20,178) in accordance with Article 38/4-a of the FDT due to Unsportsmanlike Statements.”
Mourinho was also banned for one match, which will prevent him from the dressing room and the touchline.
