'Mourinho's no racist': Drogba defends his old boss

Didier Drogba has come to the defence of his old boss Jose Mourinho after the Ivorian's former club Galatasaray accused the controversial manager of making racist statements.

Galatasaray made the allegations following Monday's 0-0 draw with Mourinho's Fenerbahce, after which the manager said the Galatasaray bench were "jumping like monkeys" following an early challenge.

Mourinho also said the match was better for being refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic rather than Turkish officials.

In a statement, Galatasaray outlined their intention to "initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho", and said he had made "derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people".

But Drogba, who played for Galatasaray in 2013-14 between two different spells at Chelsea, both of them working under Mourinho, used a social media post on X on Wednesday to defend the 62-year-old, indicating Mourinho has been a father figure for him during his career.

"Dear @GalatasaraySK, You know how proud I was to wear the yellow and red jersey and my love for the most decorated club in Turkey!!" Drogba wrote.

"We all know how passionate and heated rivalries can be, and I've been lucky enough to experience it.

"I've seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho. Trust me when I tell you I have known Jose for 25 years and he is not a racist and history (past and recent) is there to prove it.

"Let's focus on our games, support our brilliant lions and let's win the league to get close to our 5th star."

Galatasaray, who lead Fenerbahce by six points at the top of the Super Lig, would add a fifth star to those already on their crest if they secure a 25th league title this season.

Drogba added: "How can my "Dad" be a racist... Come on guys".

Fenerbahce issued their own statement on Tuesday, saying Mourinho's comments after the match were "taken completely out of context and deliberately distorted", and could "in no way be associated with racism".