Okan Buruk: Mourinho cried inside, cried in the referee's room, let him keep crying

In the 25th week of the Trendyol Süper League, Galatasaray drew 0-0 with Fenerbahçe at home. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk said, "The Crying One's speech went on a bit long. You know he is famous for his crying. He cried for a long time. He cried inside, he went into the referee's room, he cried.

Let him keep crying. It was not a match that we were very happy with in terms of play for either team. The intensity of the struggle was very high. Our opponent is ranked 7th in the league in terms of ball possession. They were a team that used transitions and long balls a lot and crossed from the wings. We cut off the long balls with Lemina. We also took the right positions on side crosses. They had a clear chance on set pieces. We could have been more productive. We did good work physically and in terms of the struggle. In my opinion, I don't remember a derby referee who performed this poorly. Stopping the whole game, giving nonsensical fouls.

There were decisions he made against us, cards he showed, fouls he gave, and fouls he didn't give. He gave many things against us. It was obvious from his face how much pressure he was under before the match. For such an experienced referee who has managed finals to have his hands and feet shaking... I saw him take the whistle to his mouth 3 times when there was no position. He didn't listen to the 4th official at all because he was Turkish. Mert Müldür had a handball situation on the ground; he bounced it with his hand like a basketball player. The 4th official said it was a handball, he didn't give it just because he was Turkish. He told him 'Don't get involved too much' during the game. I haven't seen such a poor performance. Of course, Fenerbahçe and Fenerbahçe's coach will be pleased. Because he used all the foul rights in their favor. He stopped the game a lot. We were always complaining about Turkish referees stopping the game. I think there was a referee who stopped it twice as much. He was well below his own performance. I think this stems from the pressure on him. It's his first time managing a derby in Turkey. He stopped the game so much that we were doing an injustice to Turkish referees regarding this. It turns out there are worse ones at slowing down the game," he said.

"Our defensive side was good today"

Stating that they made attacking moves towards the end of the match, Buruk said, "We made attacking moves towards the end of the match. Our opponent made defensive moves. Our opponent's intention not to lose also played an important role for us. When two midfielders returned to the midfield, I think our opponent's production decreased. They had one set piece. We entered very few positions. Since we came out of a match without much positional richness, I am unhappy in this sense. Our defensive side was good today, but we did not fulfill what we wanted in terms of attack," he said.

When asked about Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho's comment, 'If Galatasaray is a big team, they will ask for foreign referees in future matches,' the yellow-reds' manager said, "We cannot decide on that. What do they decide? Whatever they say happens anyway. So let them make the necessary applications."

"I condemn Mourinho for belittling Turkish referees"

Stating that even good referees perform poorly under pressure, Okan Buruk continued his words as follows:

"We saw it very clearly today. He stopped the game incredibly. If they are going to officiate this poorly, they shouldn't officiate at all. If a good referee is to come, it is very important to choose the referee here. There was an incredible atmosphere created around this referee. Everyone knew this referee was coming. A referee comes from Maribor, Acun Ilicali has a team in Maribor, the UEFA President has a close relationship with Ali Koç; there are many things that could disturb this referee from the outside and put him under pressure. I am not saying these things exist. When choosing a referee, these things need to be eliminated so that the referee can come with a clear head. If he had come from England, France, or Spain, none of this would have happened. We are blaming the referee due to the wrong referee selection. Mourinho went into the referee's room after the match. I think his insulting remarks to the Turkish referee there, saying 'If these had officiated, the match would have turned out like this,' are also very wrong. This is also very wrong. To belittle a Turkish referee, I cannot believe it, and I condemn it. This pressure needs to be eliminated. Whoever comes to which match, if they are going to officiate correctly and be objective, let them come."

"Galatasaray fans should now embrace the team and focus on the 5th star and the championship"

Regarding the criticisms directed at him concerning Gabonese footballer Mario Lemina, who joined the team during the winter transfer window, Buruk said, "I have always signed the players I wanted. We prepared him for the last match. Today we started him in the 11. I told him I trusted him from the moment he arrived. We had spoken on the phone before he came as well. I built this squad intentionally. We will experience great successes together with Lemina and our fans. There is a lot of effort on social media to stir up trouble for Galatasaray. It is time for us to be united. There is only one Galatasaray. We need to establish this unity now. We know very clearly what the opposing team is doing and what is going on behind the scenes. Galatasaray fans should now embrace the team and focus on the 5th star and the championship."

"Our opponent's coach did not take risks"

Stating that they played their own game, the 51-year-old manager assessed, "Our opponent is a team that finishes well. Even if Fenerbahçe doesn't seem to be playing well, they have players who are very close to scoring. In this sense, they are in first place. We continued our pressure without letting the opponent get too close to our goal. If we had gone to an away game, we would have played the same way. Our opponent's coach did not take risks. If I were him, I would have taken risks. If you want to turn the league around, if you want to close the point gap, I would have taken risks. This gap continues. Nothing is over. Fenerbahçe has very good players. As Galatasaray, it is in our hands. If we win the next 9 matches, we are already champions. I will work with my players to win these."

"I don't want to blame anyone here, everyone has faults"

Regarding the heavy security measures taken for the derby, Okan Buruk concluded his words by saying, "In the first half, we went to the opponent's field and won our match. We went inside nicely and had our celebration. We didn't do anything exaggerated. I don't want to blame anyone here. Everyone has faults. If we are presenting this image, if we are putting police on the pitch, we are all to blame here. It means we did something wrong somewhere. They are also under pressure, so that no incident occurs. Last year, after the match ended at our stadium, there was an attempt to go onto the pitch and celebrate. There was an assault, and it was taken to court. Our stadium manager experienced a very serious assault. I think we also contribute to the tensions. Actually, we are all very close to each other. Even though we live so intertwined, we all take on very different identities when we step onto the pitch. It gets worse every year. Fanaticism is increasing even more. We cannot prevent it much either. Law No. 6222 was enacted. The penalties that those who commit this crime will face can be a measure. There is an incredible effort to increase violence. We are all guilty. We need to do whatever is necessary to fix it. For this reason, I don't think it will get better right now."

News Source: İHA