Didier Drogba has issued a statement of support towards Jose Mourinho amid the ongoing racism row in Turkish football.

Mourinho, who is in charge of Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce, was accused of racism by the Istanbul-based outfit’s biggest rivals Galatasaray earlier this week.

Galatasaray accused Mourinho of making “racist statements” and revealed they intend to “launch criminal proceedings against him”.

It comes after Mourinho had described the Galatasaray bench as “jumping around like monkeys” following a referee decision in Monday’s Intercontinental Derby.

Posting on social media, Drogba said: “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!!

“We all know how passionate and heated rivalries can be, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it. Ive seen the recent comments about Jose Mourinho.”

He added: “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 five star.”

Before concluding with: “How can my “Dad” be a racist? Come on guys.”

On Monday, a statement from Galatasary read: “Fenerbahce Technical Director Jose Mourinho, who regularly utters insulting words to the Turkish people since he started working in Turkey, added inhumane statements to his immoral statements today.

“We hereby formally declare our intention to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the racist statements made by Jose Mourinho, and shall accordingly submit official complaints to UEFA and FIFA.

“Furthermore, we shall diligently observe the stance adopted by Fenerbahce – an institution professing to uphold ‘exemplary moral values’ – in response to the reprehensible conduct exhibited by their manager.”

It came on the back of a typically feisty meeting between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, at least off the pitch, with the clash momentarily paused due to crowd trouble.

Fenerbahce fans threw pyrotechnic missiles into the home end, with over 30,000 police officers reportedly ushered in prior to kick-off to help with crowd control.

The match between the two fierce city rivals ended in a 0-0 draw, meaning Galatasaray remain six points clear of Fenerbahce at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table.

Mourinho’s men still have the opportunity to secure silverware this season, given they’ve qualified for the last-16 of the Europa League.

They’ll take on Rangers in the last-16, with the first match of the two-legged tie pencilled in for next week.