Jose Mourinho’s Laptop Protest Earns Yellow Card in Fenerbahce’s Win Over Antalyaspor

Jose Mourinho, the manager of Fenerbahce, was booked during his team’s 2-0 victory against Antalyaspor on Sunday for an unusual protest involving a laptop. In the 76th minute, with Fenerbahce leading 1-0, referee Cihan Aydin disallowed a goal by Edin Dzeko due to an offside call after consulting with the VAR.

In response to the decision, Mourinho placed a laptop displaying a still image of the action in front of the broadcaster’s ground camera as a form of protest. This action earned him a yellow card from the referee.

During the post-game press conference, Mourinho explained his perspective on the incident. “For us it was a good goal,” he said. “I didn’t say a single word. I didn’t put any kind of pressure, I just put the laptop in there … I just reacted calmly. The referee decided to give me a yellow card. It’s OK. I want a VAR that helps the referee. My analyst put the laptop in front of me with the position of the left-back that probably was not the position that VAR analysed because we have the technical camera that gives us the complete width of the pitch and the left-back was in position.”

Fenerbahce secured the win with goals from Dusan Tadic and an own goal by Thalisson Kelven, keeping them in second place, three points behind league leaders Galatasaray. Mourinho expressed his concern about the upcoming international break, stating that it won’t help his team’s pursuit of the title due to the absence of many players on international duty.

The Portuguese manager also addressed the pressure he feels at Fenerbahce, attributing it to his own high expectations rather than external factors. “The pressure I feel is the pressure I put on myself,” he said. “It’s not the pressure that anyone puts on me. I have around 1200 official matches, it’s too long to feel pressure from anybody, not journalists, not supporters, not opponents. I always want to do the things right, I always want to win, which is not possible. So the pressure is the pressure that I put in myself.”

Mourinho’s unconventional protest and subsequent yellow card add another chapter to his storied career, as he continues to make headlines both on and off the pitch while leading Fenerbahce in their quest for the Turkish Süper Lig title.