Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola turned a routine pre-match press conference on Tuesday into a passionate address about the humanitarian tragedies he sees around the world. The 55-year-old Catalan spoke about the 'hurt' he feels witnessing conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere, saying the availability of real-time images makes the suffering impossible to ignore.
Guardiola, who had missed his regular media duties on Sunday after attending a charity event in Barcelona supporting Palestinian children, did not shy away from the topic despite the conference being ostensibly to preview the League Cup match against Newcastle. 'Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the info in front of our eyes, watching more clearly than now,' he said, referring to what he described as 'genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world, in Sudan, everywhere.'
He emphasised that his stance was not political but humanitarian. 'There is someone who sees the images of what happens from all around the world, the wars around the world, who is not affected? ... It hurts me,' Guardiola said. 'If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. Wanting harm for another country? It hurts me ... completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It's no more complicated than that.'
The City boss also referenced two recent fatal shootings by US federal law enforcement officers, which have sparked backlash against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. He asked what would happen if a nurse like Alex Pretti, one of the victims, was shot in Britain. 'Imagine (someone from) the NHS — five, six people around him, go on the grass and was shot,' he said.
Guardiola concluded by saying he will always use his platform to speak up for a better society. 'Protecting the human being and human life is the only thing we have,' he said. 'When people are dying, you have to help.'
