Fenerbahce have come out in defence of their coach Jose Mourinho, claiming he was provoked by his Galatasaray counterpart Okan Buruk following Wednesday's Turkish Cup game between the sides.
Mourinho, whose team lost 2-1 in the quarterfinal, was seen grabbing the nose of Buruk following a scuffle that broke out between the players on the pitch after the final whistle.
"Okan Buruk came towards our technical director Jose Mourinho, who was in a meeting with the referees yesterday after the match, under the pretext of shaking the referees' hands," a Fenerbahce statement said
"He [then] provoked our technical director with gestures and discourses, and had the audacity to make a disrespectful hand gesture after crossing the police line."
Buruk, who dropped to the ground holding his face after Mourinho grabbed his nose, said of the episode after the game: "He [Mourinho] squeezed my nose from behind while I was going on. There was a slight scratch. I won't exaggerate about it, but it's not a very stylish thing."
However, Fenerbahce felt Buruk's reaction was overblown.
"After our technical director touched his nose momentarily in the face of these provocations, the person concerned threw himself to the ground in an exaggerated manner," the club said.
"The absurdity and playfulness of a person whose nose was touched jumping to the ground and writhing for seconds is public knowledge. It is obvious that the images of this person throwing himself on the ground from his football playing days continued in his career as a coach and that this attitude is a characteristic stance."
Mourinho, 62, is expected to face punishment from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for the nose grab.
"It is clear that the ugly provocations and what happened afterwards should not be evaluated unilaterally, but with a cause and effect link," Fenerbahce added.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray vice president Metin Ozturk said the incident went beyond Buruk.
"The latest incident is not only an attack on Galatasaray's coach but also on Turkish football," he said. "This is Mourinho, I don't know where he gets this courage.
"Where in the world can he do this? Where does he think Turkey is?"
Wednesday's incident is Mourinho's latest run-in with Galatasaray since joining Fenerbahce in the summer. The Portuguese manager served a two-match ban in February after being punished by the TFF for comments he made about match officials after his side's previous meeting with Galatasaray.
He was also accused by Galatasaray of making racist remarks after that game. He has since sued the club for that claim.
Fenerbahce are second in the Super Lig standings, six points adrift of leaders Galatasaray but have one game in hand.