Guardiola slams Gaza violence in emotional speech
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said he was frightened by the painful war in Gaza, according to the BBC.
It has been 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage, CE Report quotes ATA.
At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Guardiola, 54, was speaking as he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.
“It is so painful, what we are seeing in Gaza. My whole body aches,” Guardiola said in excerpts of his speech shared on social media.
“Let me be clear, this is not about ideology. It’s not about whether I’m right or you are wrong. It’s just about love for life, about caring for your neighbour... We have to think about this... I’m sorry, but I see my children, Marian, Marius, and Valentina. When I see every morning the nightmare starting again for the babies in Gaza, I am very scared,” he emphasized.
Guardiola has never been afraid to express his political views, often speaking out in support of Catalan independence.
In 2018, he was fined £20,000 by the English Football Association for “wearing a political message” near the pitch – a yellow ribbon supporting imprisoned politicians in his native Catalonia – after previously being warned he was breaching regulations.
A year earlier, he joined thousands of protesters in Barcelona demanding independence for the region.
