Football

Didier Drogba Defends Jose Mourinho After Galatasaray Make Racism Claim Against Portuguese Boss

Author photo
By
Cai Parry
Author photo
Cai Parry Sports Editor

Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.

Get to know Cai Parry better
Sports Editor

Published26 Feb 2025

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has jumped to the defence of former manager Jose Mourinho after Galatasaray accused the Portuguese of making “racist statements” in a press conference on Monday.

Galatasaray have declared their intention to initiate criminal proceedings against Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho over alleged “racist statements” made after the Turkish giants played out a 0-0 draw on Monday evening.

In a club statement, the league leaders said: “Since the commencement of his managerial duties in Turkey, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people. Today, his discourse has escalated beyond merely immoral comments into unequivocally inhumane rhetoric.

“We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho, and shall accordingly submit official complaints to Uefa and Fifa.

“Furthermore, we shall diligently observe the stance adopted by Fenerbahce – an institution professing to uphold ‘exemplary moral values’ – in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager.”

It isn’t totally clear which statements Galatasaray are referring to, however Mourinho did say that the home bench had been “jumping like monkeys” during the game, while also continuing his criticisms of Turkish referees.

In response, Fenerbahce said: “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.”

Drogba Defends Mourinho Amid Galatasaray Racism Claims

Posting on his X (formerly Twitter) , Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, who spent a year-and-a-half at Galatasaray between 2013 and 2014, jumped to the defence of his former manager.

“Dear Galatasaray. 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 ionate and heated rivalries can be, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it,” he wrote.

“Ive seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho. Trust me when I tell you I have known Jose for 25 years and he is not a racist and history (past and recent) is there to prove it.

“Let’s focus on our games, our brilliant lions and let’s win the league to get close to our five stars.

“How can my “Dad” be a racist. Come on guys.”

Michael Essien, formerly of Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan and the Ghanaian national team, also posted in of his former boss, tweeting an image of himself, Mourinho and Drogba accompanied with three heart emojis.

At the time of writing, Fenerbahce sit in second place in the Turkish Super Lig table, six points adrift of Galatasaray with 14 matches remaining. The UK’s best football betting sites have Mourinho’s men at around 7/2 to lift the title come the end of the campaign, while the league leaders are heavily favoured at 1/5.

Related

Football
Sushan Chakraborty  •  8M
Football
Sushan Chakraborty  •  2H
Darts
Sushan Chakraborty  •  3H
Fantasy Premier League
Sushan Chakraborty  •  5H
Author photo
Cai Parry
Sports Editor

Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.

Get to know Cai Parry better
Author photo
Cai Parry Sports Editor

Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.

All posts by Cai Parry