Fenerbahce have issued a strongly-worded statement in response to accusations that their manager, Jose Mourinho, made racist comments after Monday's 0-0 draw with Galatasaray, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
Galatasaray had earlier claimed that Mourinho made "derogatory statements" about Turkish people and threatened to launch criminal proceedings against him, as well as submitting complaints to UEFA and FIFA.
However, Fenerbahce has come out in defence of their manager, saying that his comments were "taken out of context" and "deliberately distorted".
The club's statement read: "Jose Mourinho's statements were used to describe the excessive reaction of the opposing team's technical staff to the referee decisions during the match and can in no way be associated with racism.
"Trying to portray this statement as racist is a completely malicious approach. We will use our legal rights regarding this pathetic slander."
By Olujimi Dare Ogun