Fenerbahce deliver stark Rangers warning as they warm up for Europa League clash with 30-minute demolition

Barry Ferguson and Rangers his side were dealt a big weekend warning by their Europa League opponents Fenerbahce as they warmed up for Thursday’s crucial last 16 clash against the Gers with a dominant 3-0 win over over Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Head coach Jose Mourinho was forced to watch from the sidelines after being handed a touchline ban by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) last week following comments made in the aftermath of the heated draw with rivals Galatasaray last weekend, but will have been delighted with what he saw.

Centre-back Mert Müldür opened the scoring after just nine minutes, before goals from ex-Southampton ace Dusan Tadic (26) and Youssef En-Nesyri (30) sealed a comfortable win for his side and extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions. It comes in stark constant to how Rangers warmed up for the clash, as they lost 2-1 against Motherwell at Ibrox - their third home defeat in succession.

The title chasing outfit were handed a boost in their quest to catch league leaders Galatasaray, with Mourinho’s team closing the gap at the top of the table to just four points after Gala were held to a shock 3-3 draw away to Kasımpaşa at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium.

Portuguese boss Mourinho had further to celebrate after the game too, after it was revealed his four match ban had been halved by the TFF following a successful appeal. The ex-Chelsea boss had been accused of racism by Galatasaray after he made comments about their bench 'jumping like monkeys' in last weekend’s draw.

Jose Mourinho WILL be in the dugout for the visit of Rangers on Thursday. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

He also took aim at Turkish officials after the game against Galatasaray, branding the decision to draft in Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic for the game as “responsible”, claiming that a homegrown referee was more likely to have resulted in the clash being rendered a “disaster”.

“With a Turkish referee, you'd have a yellow card after one minute,” said Mourinho last Monday. “The referee was top. The match was a top match, not beautiful but a top, competitive match. Anyone, not just in Turkey, but abroad, watched a big football match and I think the man responsible for that was the referee. I went to his office after the game, where the Turkish fourth official was, and I told him thankyou for coming here. You came for a big match, and I said to the fourth official, if you were in the charge of this match it would be a disaster - and when I say him, I say the general tendency.”

After Mourinho’s blast, the TFF took the decision to impose sanctions on the Portuguese boss, handing him a four game touchline ban, and fining him 1.6m Turkish lira (approximately £35,000) after making “derogatory and offensive statements” towards the Turkish fourth official.

They also said the 62-year-old had “accused Turkish football of chaos and disorder with insulting and offensive statements towards both the Turkish football community and all Turkish referees”, adding that Mourinho’s “actions and statements that insulted the brand value of football activities in Turkey.” However, Fenerbahce have now confirmed the decision has been changed upon appeal, meaning Mourinho will only serve a two game touchline ban, while his fine has been reduced to 558,000 Turkish lira (approximately £12,200).

While the sanction means ex-Chelsea icon will be forced to miss the upcoming league game against Samsunspor next week, he WILL be in dugout for Thursday’s Europa League last 16 tie against Rangers, with the ban only applying to Turkish league games.