Mourinho being Mourinho, derby decisions and a wild lunge in Uruguay

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Hello. Jose Mourinho never stops. But a tweak of the nose beats a poke in the eye.

On the way:

Jose Being Jose

What’s happened now?

Not without reason did crowds line the streets in one sector of Istanbul on the day Fenerbahce welcomed Jose Mourinho into the hen house of Turkish football. Mourinho is box office. Mourinho is hype. Mourinho is for the daredevils, the people who tombstone off bridges.

This is, don’t forget, his first season with Fenerbahce. I say that because his brushes with controversy are so plentiful that it would be natural to think he had been managing there for years. Before we get to another wild chapter last night, let’s go back over his track record.

He has been banned for disparaging remarks about match officials and accused of making racist comments by Galatasaray (an allegation over which he has taken legal action). He has called one of his own players, Allan Saint-Maximin, unfit and lazy and has kept the media on strings. Football in Turkey was combustive without him, but there’s a common denominator here.

So to yesterday and a Turkish Cup quarter-final between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray (with the backdrop of all their existing bad blood). You might as well know that Galatasaray won 2-1 but that’s the footnote. But here are the details you really need. Hold tight:

• Mourinho stoked the fire at full time by reaching out and tweaking the nose of Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk (see above), who wasn’t in the mood for japes. Buruk’s tumble to the ground (below) was a solid 7.6 on the scorecards, but Mourinho knew what he was doing because Mourinho’s actions are always calculated. He got a red card, which saved Jose from himself as it prevented him from speaking at the post-match press conference.
• It’s not entirely unlike an incident in 2011 when Mourinho was in charge of Real Madrid. On that occasion, he poked then-Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye. Buruk told the press: “It’s not a nice thing to do. We should have shaken each other’s hands.”
• That was merely one of five red cards that night. An all-in scuffle by the technical areas — and I mean all-in — near the end of normal time saw three players dismissed, a couple from Galatasaray’s squad and one from Fenerbahce’s. Two of them were unused substitutes. Mourinho’s assistant was also sent packing.
• Not long after the final whistle, Galatasaray posted a South Park-style video of Mourinho on X, crescendoing towards a scene of him wearing a straitjacket. I’m not even joking. At the last count, it had four millions views and 192,000 likes. You can watch it here.

If I was the Turkish FA, I’d dread these clashes and forever be asking: “What’s Jose done now?”

Leaving a footprint behind him

It wouldn’t be unfair to say Mourinho likes living on the edge, or on the edge of a storm. He’s only just back from a ban imposed for 1) saying that Galatasaray’s bench were “jumping like monkeys” in a league game between the clubs in February, and 2) praising the Slovenian referee used for that fixture by claiming: “If a Turkish ref had refereed this match, it would have been a disaster.”

The heat isn’t about to die down either because Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are going toe-to-toe for the Super Lig title, and Jose loves a showdown — perhaps more than ever. Galatasaray, the rivals across the street, were infamous for unveiling banners at their ground reading, “Welcome to Hell.” It’s where the match between Jose and Turkey was made.

News Round-Up

• Breaking today: FIFA has confirmed that a joint pitch from the U.S. and Mexico to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup is the sole bid on the table. The UK’s bid for 2035 is also unopposed. Both should succeed.
• A dispute that seemingly has no end: La Liga is questioning the mechanism by which Barcelona found the money to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor for the second half of the Spanish season. An auditor who worked for Barca has been reported to the authorities. Watch this space.
• Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti appeared in a Spanish court yesterday charged with alleged tax fraud. The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a four-year prison sentence and a £2.7m ($3.46m) fine. Ancelotti denies wrongdoing.
• Bayer Leverkusen want an investigation into, and sanctions over, the pitch on which they suffered a shock German Cup defeat to third-tier Arminia Bielefeld. Apparently it wasn’t watered enough, or at all. I wouldn’t dare call this sour grapes, but you might.
• San Diego FC are enduring an awkward start to life in MLS. After homophobic chanting at their first home match, they’re now investigating brawls between fans that followed Sunday’s 3-2 win over LAFC.

PL Derby Decisions

(Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

How lucky was Tarkowski? Was Jota goal offside?

No 98th-minute shenanigans this time as Liverpool got it done in their Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield. A 1-0 victory keeps them 12 points clear in the Premier League — too far ahead to fail, you’d assume, with eight games left.

We’ll pick up on two incidents of note from last night’s clash. First, should the tackle above from James Tarkowski — the key protagonist in the previous meeting between the clubs at Goodison Park — have been punished with more than a yellow card? He gets the ball, sure, but the follow-through is vicious and could have broken Alexis Mac Allister’s leg.

The answer, in retrospect, is yes, he should have walked. PGMOL, the body which oversees refereeing and VAR in England, has admitted as much this morning.

As for the winning goal from Diogo Jota, was it right to let it stand? There were cries for offside against Luis Diaz (No 7) in the build-up.

“Referees have to apply LAW, though they might not like it”

Dermot Gallagher explains why Diogo Jota’s Merseyside derby goal was allowed to stand 💬 pic.twitter.com/aHGuz6LIMu

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 3, 2025

Some would argue Diaz’s initial position forced Tarkowski to make an interception. The letter of the law says Diaz wasn’t active until possession fell to him, by which time he was onside:

Everton manager David Moyes bemoaned it as “a clear offside”. In Arne Slot’s view, “according to the rules it was a goal, so no one can complain” — but in fairness, Slot did concede the law is obtuse. I’m with him there.

The fight for Champions League places continues apace. Manchester City waltzed past Leicester City (that’s eight defeats on the spin for Leicester— I mean, seriously) and Newcastle United fended off Brentford to hop into fifth. Over to Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur tonight…

The Case Of Lucas Akins

(George Wood/Getty Images)

Still playing, but in a few weeks, he could be in prison

So often we see clubs struggle with the dilemma of how to deal appropriately with any player who is charged with a criminal offence or convicted of a crime.

This is the scenario at Mansfield Town, a team in England’s third tier, League One, where winger Lucas Akins is playing matches despite the possibility that he’s about to go to jail. Last month, the 36-year-old pleaded guilty to causing the death of a cyclist he hit while driving in 2022. He’ll be sentenced on April 24 and prison is an option.

Mansfield haven’t dropped him. The club haven’t said anything about his offence. The issue is dividing supporters — some think it’s fine for Akins to appear while he waits to learn his punishment, others feel Mansfield haven’t handled this well.

There are never any winners in cases like this, a point Greg O’Keeffe’s excellent backgrounder makes succinctly. But that doesn’t change the pressure on clubs to do the right thing — whatever that is.

Around The Athletic FC

And Finally…

The South American leagues are a goldmine for GIFs and in the spirit of Tarkowski’s foul at Anfield, here’s a belter from Uruguay.

You’re looking at Nacional versus Juventud and Nacional defender Diego Polenta going in two-footed on Facundo Perez with just a minute and 38 seconds on the clock. You know that cliche about leaving one on the opposition early doors? Polenta might have taken it to extremes.

(Top photo: Yagiz Gurtug/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)