Didier Drogba Defends Jose Mourinho Amid Racist Allegation from Former Club Galatasaray
- Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has rejected accusations of racism made against his former manager Jose Mourinho
- The former Chelsea manager has been accused by Galatasaray after the game against Fenerbahce of making racist comments
- Mourinho moved the Turkish Superlig last summer after leaving Italian giants AS Roma halfway through last season
Former Ivory Coast and Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has jumped to the defence of Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho following allegations of racism in Turkey.
The former Inter Milan and Real Madrid gaffer has been accused of racism by Drogba's ex-club Galatasaray after the derby against Istanbul on Monday.
Source: Getty Images
Mourinho's post-match presser is believed to have contained racist comment, leading to Galatasaray initiating criminal investigations.
However, Drogba, who worked with Mourinho at Chelsea for many years and also played for Galatasaray, rejected such claims, insisting the Portuguese trainer is not a racist.
He posted on X: “Dear Galatasaray… You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey, also 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 José Mourinho.
Trust me when I tell you I have known José 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, support our brilliant lions and let’s win the league to get close to our 5 stars.
“How can my dad be a racist… come on guys."
Mourinho moved to Turkey last summer to take over as manager at Fenerbahce in the Superlig.
Fenerbahce reply Galatasaray over allegation
Galatasaray's rivals Fenerbahce have also released a statement supporting their manager, claiming the league leaders are deploying off the field tactics to score points.
Source: Getty Images
The statement read:
We deem it necessary to issue this statement concerning a matter that has dominated the agenda following the match between our Football Team and Galatasaray.
A post-match remark made by our Coach, Jose Mourinho, has been deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.
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.
Any attempt to portray this statement as a racist remark is completely malicious.
We would like to inform the public that we will exercise our legal rights against this baseless accusation, which aims to take competition off the pitch, shift the agenda, and manipulate public perception.
Fenerbahçe Sports Club
Essien reacts to Mourinho's racism accusation
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Ghana legend Michael Essien has jumped to the defence of former manager Jose Mourinho following allegations of racism from Galatasaray.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager has been accused by the Turkish club of making racist comment during the game against Fenerbahce.
Mourinho, the manager of Fenerbahce's reacted after the game by making a statement which is believed to be what triggered Galatasaray.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
