Jose Mourinho is back in the headlines after his Fenerbahçe side suffered a devastating defeat to Lille, knocking them out of Champions League qualification.
The loss came in the most dramatic fashion, with a 118th-minute penalty sealing their fate and leaving Mourinho fuming on the touchline.
Despite starting their domestic season with a win, Fenerbahçe’s European dreams were shattered when Jonathan David converted a late penalty, ending their hopes of progressing to the Champions League.
The decision, which came after VAR intervened and ruled that Fenerbahçe defender Jayden Oosterwolde had handled the ball, left Mourinho visibly frustrated.
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History repeats itself for Jose Mourinho
At full-time, Mourinho echoed one of his most famous rants from his Chelsea days. Referring to his iconic line from 2014, when his Chelsea side lost to Aston Villa under controversial circumstances, Mourinho said, “We can do very well in the Europa League, but if… I prefer not to continue with this sentence. Because if I say it, I will get into trouble.”
Mourinho’s frustration was clear as he continued, “Only the referee knows why it was a penalty, only the VAR knows. I’m proud of my team. This [not wasting time] is the referee’s job, he has to respect the game. He has to make the players respect it.”
This isn’t the first time Mourinho has expressed his displeasure with officiating this season. Just days before, in Fenerbahçe’s 1-0 win over Adana Demirspor in the Turkish Super Lig, Mourinho picked up a yellow card for dissent after just 15 minutes on the sidelines.
The defeat means that Fenerbahçe will once again have to settle for Europa League football, a bitter pill for Mourinho to swallow. As the dust settles on another European disappointment, fans and pundits alike will be watching to see how the Special One navigates the challenges ahead.
