José Mourinho caused a stir in Turkish football following a dramatic Turkish Cup quarter-final, where his side, Fenerbahce, suffered a 2-1 defeat to arch-rivals Galatasaray. The controversy erupted at the final whistle, when Mourinho appeared to grab the nose of Galatasaray’s head coach, Okan Buruk, leading to an emotional confrontation. Video footage captured Mourinho pinching Buruk’s nose from behind, causing Buruk to fall to the ground, clutching his face in pain. This incident escalated a fiery game that had already seen three red cards handed out during the match, two of which were shown to players on the benches.
The tension between the two managers reached a boiling point after both spoke with the match officials. Galatasaray’s vice-president, Metin Ozturk, condemned Mourinho’s actions, claiming the Portuguese manager physically and verbally attacked Buruk. He questioned what Mourinho thought of Turkey and suggested that Fenerbahce’s management would take necessary action against their own coach. Buruk, however, downplayed the incident in his post-match comments, acknowledging that while it wasn’t a classy move, he didn’t want to exaggerate the matter. Despite the controversy, Buruk maintained that the incident did not warrant further escalation, though he admitted it was an unpleasant situation.
On the pitch, the game had its own drama. Victor Osimhen scored a first-half brace for Galatasaray, with his first goal coming from a loose ball just 10 minutes into the match and his second from the penalty spot after a VAR review penalized Fenerbahce’s Filip Kostic for a handball. Fenerbahce pulled one back just before halftime, with Sebastian Szymanski’s goal initially ruled out for offside but later confirmed by VAR. Despite some strong saves by Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper Irfan Egribayat, Galatasaray held onto their lead, securing a victory that boosted their chances of completing a league and cup double.
The match didn’t end without more drama, as a skirmish broke out in stoppage time, leading to red cards for two Galatasaray players Baris Alper Yilmaz, who had just been substituted, and Kerem Demirbay, who was an unused substitute. Additionally, Fenerbahce’s Mert Hakan Yandas received a red card, and Mourinho himself was shown a red card after his clash with Buruk, capping off a turbulent contest.
Galatasaray’s social media account later posted a picture of Buruk smiling beside Mourinho, alongside the caption, “you should not attack, you should digest,” a clear reference to the post-match confrontation. Galatasaray remains six points clear at the top of the Super Lig, with this win putting them in a strong position to claim both the league and cup titles.
This wasn’t the first time Mourinho had been involved in controversy with Galatasaray. Back in February, during a goalless Super Lig draw, Mourinho was accused of making racist comments towards the opposition bench, referring to them as “jumping around like monkeys.” Fenerbahce denied the accusations and filed a lawsuit against Galatasaray, claiming that the remarks were an attack on Mourinho’s personal rights.
In Germany, VfB Stuttgart stunned RB Leipzig with a 3-1 victory to reach the DFB-Pokal final for the first time in 12 years. Stuttgart had been dominant throughout the match, with goals from Angelo Stiller, Nick Woltemade, and Jamie Leweling. Despite a second-half strike from Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Stuttgart’s solid performance ensured they would face third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the final, after Bielefeld pulled off a shock 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
In Italy, the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final between Inter Milan and AC Milan ended in a 1-1 draw. Milan’s Tammy Abraham gave them the lead early in the second half, but Hakan Calhanoglu’s powerful strike brought Inter level. The second leg promises to be a thrilling encounter, with the winner set to face Bologna in the final.
Finally, in the Coupe de France, Stade de Reims secured their place in the final with a 2-1 win over fourth-tier Cannes. Reims will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the final after PSG overcame Dunkerque 4-2 in their semi-final.
