Reports out of Turkey claim that Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho has flown out of the country on Saturday in order to have surgery on an unspecified ‘health problem’.
SportsDigitale claim that Mourinho, 61, has jetted out of Istanbul in order to have a procedure, a day after his side drew 1-1 away to Eyupspor.
Mourinho, who gave his squad some time off after dropping more points in the title race, was visibly irate on the touchline and described Fenerbahce’s draw as a “disaster”, with the club five points behind fierce rivals Galatasaray at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table.
Mourinho said: “It was a disaster. How much of the match was played, how many stoppages were there during the match, how long were the players on the ground? This happened many times. Therefore, the quality of the match was low. There were also many technical errors. There were many technical errors.
“For me, it was a weak, low-quality match. I am not responsible for the match being of such low quality, I am responsible for my own team, and my team also showed a weak performance today. We made a lot of technical errors individually. It was difficult for us to hold and turn the ball. We made a lot of mistakes in playmaking.
“We were much better in the second half, we created positions, we used the edges better. Although I would not say clear positions, we got into positions. Some of the ball losses we made also gave the opponent an opportunity. It gave them the opportunity to make a counter-attack. It was a weak match, a weak performance on our behalf.”
Mourinho confirmed that he and his team would be taking some time away as Turkish clubs enjoy a winter break and Fenerbahce not back in action until January 5.
“We will have a few days off but it will not be a happy off period for me,” the Portuguese coach explained. “How it will be for the players depends on their own mentality. But it will not be a happy off period for me.
“Actually, I would prefer not to have this off period but we promised the players long ago. Many players could not take more than 10 days off. Therefore, this was an important situation for them to rest. We will continue to work very hard in the second period of this two-week break.”
The final game before their break was a chaotic 90 minutes, as Youssef En-Nesyri cancelled out Ahmed Kutucu’s effort in first-half stoppage time.
Arda Turan, now the manager of Super Lig club Eyupspor, was sent off after En-Nesyri escaped any punishment for appearing to headbutt one of Turan’s players.
The former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid winger erupted on the touchline and was promptly sent to the stands, where he was later seen smoking a cigar.
