‘How can my dad be racist?’ says Chelsea legend Didier Drogba as he defends Jose Mourinho after wild Galatasaray claims
DIDIER DROGBA has passionately defended his former boss Jose Mourinho over accusations of racism.
Fenerbahce boss Mourinho is the target of legal action from rivals Galatasaray following a bad-tempered Istanbul derby on Monday.
The Special One guided his team to a 0-0 draw in a hostile atmosphere at RAMS Park.
Fenerbahce are six points behind Galatasaray in the Super Lig title race.
But a comment made by Mourinho following the game has prompted fury from the club.
Mourinho accused Galatasaray‘s bench of “jumping like monkeys” during his post-match press conference.
The ex-Chelsea boss has been a vocal critic of officiating in Turkey throughout the season.
Slovenian ref Slavko Vincic was drafted in by the Turkish FA specially for the grudge match.
After the stalemate, Mourinho said: “We thank the referee because after the big dive in the first minute and their bench jumping like monkeys on the top of the kid, with a Turkish referee, the kid would have a yellow card after one minute and after five minutes I would have to change.
“Thankfully it was a perfect experience for him.”
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Galatasaray has reacted furiously to the comments, with the club releasing a statement on Tuesday.
It included their “intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho.”
Drogba, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea and won three Premier League titles, took to social media to defend his ex-boss.
The Ivorian, who also played two seasons for Galatasaray, wrote a plea to his former employers.
He said: “Dear@GalatasaraySK. You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey and my love for the most decorated club in Turkey!!
“We all know how passionate and heated rivalries can be, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it.
“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.”
Drogba added: “How can my “Dad” be a racist? Come on guys.”
Fenerbahce released their own counter-statement on Tuesday, defending Mourinho.
It read: “A statement made by our technical director Jose Mourinho after the match was completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort it.
“As every sensible person can see and understand; these statements used by Jose Mourinho to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team’s technical staff to the referee decisions during the match can in no way be associated with racism.
“Trying to portray this statement as racist is a completely malicious approach.
“We would like to inform the public that we will use our legal rights regarding this pathetic slander that was made in order to take the competition off the field, change the agenda and manipulate it.”