Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gave an extraordinary press conference that moved far away from football
Pep Guardiola spoke out against deaths in Palestine and the United States – and the situation in Sudan – at his latest Manchester City press conference.
Having aired his views at a charity concert, in support of Palestinian people, last week, the Blues boss spoke about the shootings of two US civilians involved in a protest by ICE agents that has been hugely controversial for president Donald Trump and his administration.
During the press conference at the City Football Academy, Guardiola spoke about the death of nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, asking people to think what would happen if an NHS worker was killed in the UK.
He said: “When I see the images, I am sorry – it hurts. It hurts me, that is why in every position I can help speaking up to be a better society, I will try and will be there. All the time.
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“It is for my kids, my families, for you. For all of you and your families as well and the kids. For my players, my staff and everyone do whatever he can in his job, in his life for the best. From my point of view, the justice? You have to talk. Otherwise it will just move on.
“Look what happened in the United States of America. Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed – one of them a nurse. Imagine [someone from] the NHS, five six people around him, go on the grass and 10 shots. Tell me how you can defend that?
“Make something wrong, go to the jail. That is what happens in the modern [day]. There is not a perfect society, nowhere is perfect, I am not perfect, we have to work to be better. A person who can go there, defend a woman, hundreds have been killed for that. Who can defend that? I don’t know. I will always be in front of that.”
Guardiola’s comments on the US could well irk Trump, who was given the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by the body’s president Gianni Infantino ahead of the World Cup in the country this summer. They may well cause other awkward conversations closer to home.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was sat next to Trump two weeks ago as he signed up to the president’s Board of Peace on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. The country’s vice-president is City owner Sheikh Mansour.
Protests have been held outside the Etihad this season by groups accusing the UAE of ‘providing extensive financial and military support’ to one side of the Sudanese conflict. That claim is denied. The UAE this week agreed with the UN World Food Programme to supply $20m in aid.
There is also a strong a Jewish presence among City’s fanbase. Many will have taken note of the manager’s references to Palestine. The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester wrote to chairman Al Mubarak in December to complain that Guardiola had not condemned the synagogue attack in Prestwich.
Guardiola spoke about issues he said he was happy to disagree on with friends on, adding: “Never, ever in the history of humanity – never ever have we had the info in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now: genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world – in Sudan, everywhere. What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. It’s our problems.
“There is somebody who sees the images from all around the world who is not affected? Here it’s not a question about right or wrong. Maybe a politician, left wing, right wing, of course, everyone with ideas can do with that, but there is someone here that is not affected every single day? Today we can see it. Before we could not see it. Today we see.
“It hurts me. For me, it hurts me. If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. Wanting harm for another country? It hurts me. It’s not about the position. Every argument, I’m sorry, this is my feeling. You can discuss when. Completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more. I have a lot of friends from many, many countries, a lot of friends, but when you have an idea and you need to defend [it] and you have to kill thousands of people [to do that], I’m sorry, I will stand up, always I will be there. Always.
“I cannot imagine how anybody cannot feel that, when you see the images every single day, the fathers, mothers, kids, having happened what happened, their lives being destroyed and the people cannot feel a little bit of being attached? I’m sorry, I cannot feel it.”