Jose Mourinho made his position perfectly clear off-camera after Fenerbahce snatched a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday evening in Turkey.
The 61-year-old Portuguese manager was appointed Fenerbahce head coach in June after months on the sideline following his sacking from Roma in January.
Jose Mourinho, who was in charge of Manchester United from 2016 to 2018, was reunited with the Red Devils for Fenerbahce’s Europa League encounter.
Erik ten Hag’s men opened the scoring against Fenerbahce thanks to Christian Eriksen, with the Red Devils taking a 1-0 lead into half-time in Istanbul.
However, Mourinho’s men rallied back early in the second half and Fenerbahce were level only four minutes after the break thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s header.
Both United manager Erik ten Hag and Fenerbahce boss Mourinho were forced to settle for a point from the Europa League clash.
The Red Devils are 21st in the Europa League’s new-look league-phase format, which was introduced by UEFA in the 2024-25 campaign.
United have picked up three consecutive draws in their Europa League season so far, while Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side are 14th in the league-phase table.
Mourinho furious with one decision
Jose Mourinho was sent off to the stands in the second half after his heated confrontation with the referee in the Europa League match.
The former Manchester United manager was furious that Fenerbahce were denied a penalty and Mourinho pulled no punches after the 1-1 draw in Istanbul.
“He told us something incredible,” he said on TNT Sports, as per ESPN.
“He told [me] that at the same time he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline.
“I congratulate him because he is absolutely incredible, his peripheral vision. During the game, 100mph, he had one eye on the penalty situation, and he had one eye on the bench and my behaviour.
“So that’s the explanation he gave me. That’s why he’s one of the best referees in the world.”
Mourinho’s reaction off-camera
TNT Sports reporter Danny Jamieson took to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, and revealed what he saw from Mourinho after the match.
Danny Jamieson, who interviewed Mourinho during the post-match piece, said that Mourinho had “stormed down the tunnel” past the press at the full-time whistle.
However, he added that the ‘Special One’ was visibly unhappy with Fenerbahce being denied a penalty and expressed his “disgust” with “anyone in earshot.”
“Jose Mourinho has stormed down the tunnel past us in the flash zone at full time,” Jamieson said.
“Made his disgust with the non-award of a penalty very clear to anyone in earshot.”
Speaking to Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves in the TNT Sports studio, presenter Jules Breach added that she couldn’t repeat what Mourinho said on live TV.
“Our reporter Danny Jamieson has confirmed that, on the full-time whistle, Jose Mourinho did storm down the tunnel and had a few choice words to say then,” she said.
“Not very nice language is all I can say. I can’t repeat what he said. We’re trying to figure out if we can say it in another way, but I don’t think we can.
“‘Football is a disgrace’ is what I will leave it at.”
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