Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has come out in defense of former manager Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese was accused of making “racist statements” following Fenerbahce’s draw against Galatasaray on Monday.
Currently managing Fenerbahce, Mourinho faced a backlash after he said on the opposing bench “jumped like monkeys” during a fiery Istanbul derby. Galatasaray quickly condemned the remarks, calling them racist.
Drogba, who played for Galatasaray in the 2013-14 season and worked under Mourinho at Chelsea, dismissed the accusations, however. Through his various social media accounts, the Ivorian striker showed full support for Mourinho.
“You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey and my love for the most decorated club in Turkey,” Drogba said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’ve known Jose for 25 years, and he is not a racist. History proves it. How can my ‘Dad’ be a racist? Come on, guys.”
Mourinho, who joined Fenerbahce in June 2024 following his departure from Roma, has criticized Turkish referees too. Before the derby he maintained that using a Turkish official would have been a “disaster,” and the clubs had agreed to use Slovakian Slavko Vincic to referee the match.
