Man City’s Guardiola says he will continue to stand up for Palestine

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Pep Guardiola has again voiced his support for the people of Palestine, saying he will continue to speak out on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza to help bring justice and peace.

On Tuesday, the Manchester City manager used the pre-match news conference for his team’s English League Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur as a platform to highlight the plight of people affected by wars across the world, especially in Gaza.

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“Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now,” Guardiola told reporters ⁠in Manchester, England.

“The genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world – in Sudan, everywhere,” he said.

“What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. It’s our problems.”

The 55-year-old voiced his feelings on the images coming out of the war-torn regions, saying they hurt him deeply.

“If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me,” Guardiola said.

“Wanting harm for another country? It hurts me. To completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more.

“When you have an idea and you need to defend it, and you have to kill thousands, thousands of people? I’m sorry, I will stand up. Always, I will be there, always.”

The Catalan said the protection of human life was of foremost importance.

“What is happening right now, with the technologies and advances that we have, the humanity is better than ever in terms of possibilities. We can reach the moon; we can do everything.

“But still, right now, we kill each other. For what? When I see the images, I am sorry, it hurts.

“That is why in every position I can help by speaking up to be a better society, I will try and will be there. From my point of view, the justice? You have to talk.”

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,803 people and wounded 171,575 since October 2023. At least 10 people, including a four-year-old girl, were killed by Israeli attacks on Wednesday.

Guardiola has repeatedly voiced his support for the Palestinian people, and it was the second time in five days that he addressed the genocide in Gaza in his public comments.

“We have left them alone, abandoned,” Guardiola, wearing a keffiyeh, said on January 29 as he condemned global silence over the suffering of Palestinian children in Gaza during a charity event in Spain.

The Spanish manager was visibly moved when he was asked why he felt the need to speak about Palestine at the event.

Last year, Guardiola said images of children being killed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza left him “deeply troubled”.

He is one of the few prominent sports managers to have repeatedly raised his voice for the Palestinians.

“There is not a perfect society, ‍nowhere is perfect, I am not perfect, we have to work to be better.”

“I have a lot of friends in many, many countries, a lot of friends. When you have an idea and you need to defend [it], and you have to kill thousands, thousands of people, I’m sorry, I will stand up. Always I will be there, always.”

Guardiola also remarked on the two fatal shootings by federal law enforcement officials of American citizens, which have led to a broad backlash against United States President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

“Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed,” said Guardiola, who asked what would happen if a nurse like Pretti were shot in the United Kingdom in those circumstances.

“Imagine [someone from] the NHS [National Health Service] — five, six people around him, go on the grass”, and was shot.

“Tell me how you can defend that?”

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