Jose Mourinho fumed at the referee and Uefa after being sent off during Fenerbahce’s 1-1 draw with his former club Manchester United.
Mourinho lost his cool on the touchline as he protested Clement Turpin’s decision not to award a penalty for a a Manuel Ugarte challenge on Bright Osayi-Samuel.
“I don’t want to speak about it,” Mourinho told TNT Sports. “(After the match) the referee told me something incredible. He said at the same time he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline.
“I congratulate him because he’s absolutely incredible, his peripheral vision during the game, 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation, and he had one eye on the bench and on my behaviour. So, that is the explanation he gave me, that’s why he is the one of the best referees in the world!”
Later, Mourinho finished off his press conference by suggesting that he would be open to a return to England. The 61-year-old said he is finished with playing in Uefa competitions and could instead go to a club that is battling relegation.
“The best thing I have to do is when I leave Fenerbahce, I go to a club that doesn’t play in Uefa competition,” he said. “So a club at the bottom in England who needs a coach in two years, I’m ready to go.”
Mourinho laughed off suggestions he could appeal against his sending off.
“If I appeal, I will get six months’ ban, so there is nothing to do,” he said. “Since Sevilla-Roma final (in the 2023 Conference League), there is nothing to do. It is what it is. That’s why I say if the future is maybe better without European competitions, so I don’t get upset. It is what it is.”
