Even if his teams have a habit of playing a trudging, conservative style of football on the pitch, life is never dull off it when José Mourinho is prowling the technical area. The Portuguese is into his third decade as a top-tier head coach, and despite having two Champions League wins – not to mention landing three titles in the ‘big five’ European leagues – he also has just as many controversial moments on his ledger.
Turning 60 does not seem to have diminished Mourinho’s bad behaviour; in fact, his switch to Turkish side Fenerbahce in 2024 seems to have unlocked a new level of naughtiness. In April 2025, the Special One added a new entry to his crime sheet: for reasons only he can explain, grabbing the nose of Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk following a feisty cup tie between the sides.
Jose Mourinho appeared to pull Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk’s nose during the Istanbul derby 😳 pic.twitter.com/31H6qbcMJX
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 2, 2025
Normally if a head coach did that, there’d be shock and surprise – with Mourinho, not so much. In fact, it just adds another unruly episode to a career that is jam-packed with some of the most controversial moments you’re ever likely to see from an elite football manager.
One in the Eye
His clash with Buruk wasn’t the first time that Mourinho has tangled with the manager in the opposition dugout. The Super Cup is supposed to be a genteel affair to raise the curtain on the new Spanish football season. But the 2011 edition, between El Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, was all-out warfare.
Three red cards were shown in what is effectively an exhibition game, with one of those going to Real Madrid’s Marcelo; he was given his marching orders for hacking down Barca’s Cesc Fabregas. That sparked an unsightly brawl involving players, substitutes and coaching staff, with – wouldn’t you know it – Mourinho in the thick of things.
In the melee, he somehow ended up poking Barcelona head coach Tito Villanova in the eye… just months after he was banned for five matches after suggesting that referees preferred Barca to his own Real team.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Given the ferocious manner in which he berates match officials and anyone else within earshot, it’s no surprise to learn that Mourinho has regularly been handed touchline bans over the years. One such suspension in his first season as Chelsea boss back in 2004/05 meant that he was forced to miss a Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich.
Normally, touchline bans require the manager to watch on with the rest of us, with contact with their players and staff members prohibited. But the Special One came up with a special solution to ensure he could deliver the pre-match team talk…
He hid in the Chelsea kit man’s laundry basket, delivering his speech, before being wheeled out again beyond the watchful eye of UEFA officials prowling around. the Portuguese recalled:
The kit man put me in the basket. It was a little bit open so I could breathe. But when he is taking it outside the dressing room, the UEFA guys were following and desperate to find me, so he closed the box and I couldn’t breathe!
When he opened the box I was dying! I am serious! I was claustrophobic, I promise!
Touchline Dust Up
In time, José Mourinho will be fondly remembered at Chelsea as a club legend; helping the Blues to three Premier League titles, amongst other things. But both of his spells at the club have ended in acrimonious circumstances, which explains why his returns to Stamford Bridge as the head coach of another team have often been fractious, to say the least.
A stint at Manchester United saw Mourinho return to the technical area at Stamford Bridge, where he ‘enjoyed’ a hot reception from the home supporters. To make matters worse, his Red Devils players threw away a 2-1 lead to a late Ross Barkley equaliser; which sparked pandemonium in the stands and on the touchline.
Chelsea coach Marco Ianni charged down the line, punching the air in delight, before returning to his position and – allegedly – goading Mourinho. Needless to say, the Special One didn’t need a second invitation to a tear up. He hared after Ianni, chasing the coach down the tunnel before being restrained by stewards. Not a happy homecoming, you might say.
Making Friends in a New Country
As you move to a new country for work, it makes sense to ease your way in as you ingratiate yourself to the locals. Well, that’s the general plan, anyway. But Mourinho doesn’t play by anybody else’s rules. Within three months of his first full season in charge of Fenerbahce, the Special One had suggested that Turkish football has a problem with corruption, that one particular referee was a ‘little boy’ and that another VAR official, Atilla Karaoglan, ‘smells bad’.
It all came to a head when Fenerbahce took on Trabzonspor in November 2024. A bonkers contest saw Trabzonspor awarded two second half penalties, which they converted, to level the sides at 2-2… before Fenerbahce scored an extraordinary 112th minute winner.
Cue classic Mourinho knee slide/front tumble in front of his adoring fans. Those scenes of ecstasy were soon forgotten by an irate Mourinho, who was incensed by the performance of the match officials… and wasn’t slow to let them know about it. Mourinho said:
The referee was just a little boy that was there on the pitch but the referee was [VAR official] Atilla Karaoglan, so man of the match. He goes from the invisible man to the man of the match. I speak on behalf on every Fenerbahce fan: we don’t want him again. We don’t want him because he smells bad. Smells bad.
That ‘smells bad’ line was in reference to perceived corruption in the Turkish game; on which he doubled down when accusing his own club’s owners of not clueing him in about the problem.
I blame the Fenerbahce people that brought me here. They told me only half of the truth. They didn’t tell me the whole truth because if they told me the whole truth, I wouldn’t come. But, with half of the truth and my boys, we fight opponents and the system.
Just another day at the office for the Special One…
