Mourinho shown red in dramatic Europa League encounter with former club United

The Europa League showdown between Manchester United and Fenerbahce delivered on premium drama as the two sides held out to a draw. A highlight of the game was Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho being shown a red card for protesting after a penalty call by his club was ignored by the referee. Mourinho’s side managed to get a draw after falling behind in the first half despite the manager being sent off.
A challenge by Manuel Ugarte had sent former QPR meman Bright Osayi-Samuel to the ground inside the United penalty box. Appeals for a penalty by Fenerbahce were waved by referee Clement Turpin, leaving the Portuguese coach furious. He subsequently got into a heated argument with fourth official Jeremy Stinat, prompting Turpin to intervene by showing the manager a red card.
Christian Eriksen had given United the lead early in the first half. However, this advantage was cancelled out with a header from Youssef En-Nesyri four minutes into the second half, bringing the Turkish side level.
The former United manager, after initially reserving his comment on the penalty call and his red card in his post-match interview, said he had a conversation with the referee after the game. He said, “He told me something incredible. He told me that at the same time, he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on touchline. I congratulate him because he is absolutely incredible.
“His peripheral vision during the game, at 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation and one eye on the bench and on my behaviour so that’s the explanation given. That’s why he is one of the best referees in the world!”
Despite escaping with just a point, Mourinho was happy about his team’s performance. He praised his players and noted that but for Andre Onana’s excellence in goal, they would have come away with all three points. He said, “I watched the incident, I don’t speak about the incident. They [United] got a point against us, not us a point against them. We played amazing. If we play like this in the Turkish league we destroy everything because we played a team at a superior level than us.
“The Premier League has more quality, more intensity, more pace, more everything… I think my boys did an amazing match. We had to do a crazy puzzle, but our performance was extraordinary.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more from the players. Andre Onana made two fantastic saves. They scored in a situation we knew they could. We had a phenomenal performance. Come on, he saved the result. My goalkeeper didn’t make a save.”