Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was booked by the referee on Sunday after he protested against a VAR decision to disallow a goal by placing a laptop in front of a TV camera, displaying a picture in an effort to show the offside decision was incorrect.
The Portuguese former Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid manager told reporters he believed his striker Edin Dzeko was onside, and displayed a frame from the build-up to the strike to prove his point.
With Fenerbahce 1-0 up in the 76th minute, referee Cihan Aydin disallowed Dzeko’s goal for offside after VAR intervention. Mourinho then proceeded to put a laptop showing a still image of that action and placed it in front of the broadcaster’s ground camera as a sign of protest and was shown a yellow card.
“For us it was a good goal,” Mourinho said in Sunday’s post-game news conference. “I didn’t say a single word.
“I didn’t put any kindof pressure, I just put the laptop in there ... I just reacted calmly.
“The referee decided to give me a yellow card. It’s OK.”
Mourinho said after the 2-0 win at Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig: “I like good VAR... I just want a VAR that helps the referee to take the right decisions.”
Fenerbahce chairman Ali Koc had accused Turkish Super Lig’s video assistant referees of bias against his club last April, with the league deciding to hire foreign VARs for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
