Scratch of the day: Rival manager not a fan of Jose Mourinho’s post-match pinch

Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk says Jose Mourinho grabbing his face in the aftermath of their Turkish Cup win over Fenerbahce was “not a big deal” but added it was “not a very nice thing”.

Following the final whistle in Wednesday’s game, which Galatasaray won 2-1, Mourinho appeared to pinch Buruk’s nose and the manager fell to the ground holding his face in his hands.

Buruk was left lying on his back as the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss was dragged away from the flashpoint.

Mourinho’s reaction came after his Fenerbahce side lost the quarter-final but Buruk insisted he would not “exaggerate” what had happened after sustaining a “slight scratch”.

“There was nothing between me (and Mourinho),” Buruk said in quotes reported on the club website.

“I just congratulated the referees. He had also gone to congratulate the referees. While I was continuing, he pinched my nose from behind. It was a slight scratch.

“Of course, it’s not a very nice or stylish thing. We want to stay in the game. We especially want and expect the behaviour of the technical staff to be more correct here.

“I won’t exaggerate this but it’s not a very stylish thing. We should have shaken each other’s hands before the match. Unfortunately, we couldn’t experience that. It’s not a big deal. I won’t exaggerate this.”

Victor Osimhen’s brace gave Galatasaray the advantage before Sebastian Szymanski pulled one back on the cusp of half-time and Buruk’s team managed to see out an ill-tempered clash that ended with three players being sent off in stoppage time.

Mert Hakan Yandas was shown a red card for Fenerbahce and Kerem Demirbay and Baris Alper Yilmaz were both dismissed for the visitors.

After the game, Galatasaray posted an image on X of Buruk and Mourinho with the caption: “You should not attack, you should digest!”

Mourinho’s Fenerbahce are six points behind Galatasaray in the Super Lig with a game in hand.