Jose Mourinho was in vintage form as he described referee Clement Turpin as the “best in the world” after he was sent off during Fenerbahce’s draw with former club Manchester United in the Europa League.
Mourinho was sent to the stands after appealing for a penalty when Bright Osayi-Samuel went down following a challenge from Manuel Ugarte in the box. His Fenerbahce side had just equalised through Youssef En-Nesyri.
The 61-year-old watched the remainder of the game perched on a step behind the dugout as Fenerbahce held on to claim a point against Erik ten Hag’s side, before Mourinho produced another box-office moment when speaking to TV.
Mourinho said it was “incredible” that referee Turpin had seen his behaviour on the touchline while also assessing Fenerbahce’s penalty claim and he did not hold back when discussing the incident.
“I don’t want to speak about it,” he said to TNT Sports when asked about his red card. “The referee told me something incredible. He said at the same time he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline.
“I congratulate him because he is absolutely incredible. During the game, 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation and one eye on my behaviour on the bench. That is why he is the one of the best referees in the world.”
Mourinho was also adamant that Fenerbahce deserved to win the game and said his side had put in an “extraordinary performance”. United were rescued by an excellent display from goalkeeper Andre Onana, who Mourinho said was man of the match.
“They got a point against us, not us against them. We played amazing. If we play like this in the Turkish league we destroy everything because of course we played against a team with superior level than us. The Premier League has more quality, more intensity and more everything.
“I think my boys did an amazing match. Probably in England people will speak of two or three players for Manchester United who did not play, you do not know how many of us didn’t play. At the start we had four players out of the list, and we had injuries. We had to do a crazy puzzle. Our performance was extraordinary. I could not ask any more from the players.”
Mourinho was left in disbelief by Onana’s stunning double save to deny En-Nesyri, grinning and raising his hands on the touchline as if to say Onana’s double stop was not possible.
“Andre Onana made two fantastic saves. They scored in a situation we knew they could. We had a phenomenal performance,” he added to TNT Sports.
“Come on, he saved the result. My goalkeeper didn’t make a save, he made two impossible saves in 10 seconds. He was the most decisive player in the result. Of course he didn’t make 20 saves but he made two that were incredible.
“I know English media will say Manchester United didn’t play well but I think it would be fair to say we did an extraordinary match and we were better than them. A good result for Manchester United.”