Pep Guardiola launched into an extraordinary monologue on global humanitarian issues before Manchester City attempt to reach the Carabao Cup final.
In a remarkable press conference, the City boss criticised the Trump administration after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, having earlier had his say on the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.
‘Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and (intensive care nurse) Alex Pretti have been killed,’ the 55-year-old said when asked what was behind his decision to speak up on political issues.
‘Imagine the NHS, five six people around him, go on the grass and 10 shots. Tell me how you can defend that?’
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was the United Arab Emirates’ representative on Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace at Davos last month, an organisation designed to resolve conflicts that also affords the USA significant decision-making power.
Al Mubarak was part of a delegation that visited the White House following Trump’s inauguration last year.
Sporting a keffiyeh scarf — a traditional headdress which has become a symbol of Palestinian resistence — Guardiola recently gave an emotional speech in support of Palestine at a charity concert in Barcelona.
Last month, the Jewish Representative Council accused Guardiola of ‘putting the lives of British Jews in danger’ in the wake of ‘shameful’ remarks around Gaza and wrote to Al Mubarak asking why their manager had not condemned the terrorist attack on a local synagogue.
Talking broadly about geopolitics, Guardiola said yesterday: ‘Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes more clearly than now.
‘The 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.
‘Is there someone here who is not affected every single day? For me, it hurts me. If it was the opposite (political) side, it would hurt me. Killing thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. Do something wrong, go to jail.
‘I have a lot of friends from many, many countries, 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.’
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
