Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has launched a powerful and emotional condemnation of the ongoing situation in Gaza, stating he believes the world has utterly abandoned the Palestinian people.
An Impassioned Plea for Action
Speaking on Spanish radio station RAC1 on Monday, the revered football figure did not hold back in his assessment. Guardiola, 54, expressed his profound distress at the images emerging from the conflict, which began after the October 7 attacks in 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that around 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the hostilities escalated.
'Every time I imagine what is happening to the people of Palestine, it's that the whole world has left them alone,' Guardiola stated. He conveyed a sense of desperation, imagining the people of Gaza waiting for international intervention that never arrives. 'They are not to blame for being born in Palestine,' he emphasised, referring to the children, parents, and grandparents affected.
The former Barcelona coach was unequivocal in his language, questioning the international response. 'There, for a very long time now, we have allowed the destruction of an entire people,' he said. 'Because they say, "don't say genocide", I wonder what it is then. The people who live there, we've abandoned them.'
Charity Match Sends a Message of Solidarity
Guardiola's comments were made in the context of the upcoming ACT x Palestine charity friendly match. The game, between Catalonia and Palestine, is scheduled for the Lluis Companys Stadium in Barcelona. More than 25,000 tickets have been sold, with all proceeds directed towards humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
'It's more than just a symbolic match,' Guardiola asserted, underlining the deeper significance of the event. 'These days, everyone knows everything and with this game, the Palestinians will see that there's a part of the world that cares about them.'
A Growing Movement in the Sporting World
This intervention from one of football's most prominent figures comes amid increasing activism from athletes. Just last week, a group called Athletes 4 Peace, which includes Premier League stars and former England cricketer Moeen Ali, demanded that UEFA suspend Israel from international competitions.
In a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, the group of around 70 sportspeople expressed being 'deeply disturbed by the lack of moral action'. The letter argued that 'No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid and other crimes against humanity.'
This stance finds support in a September finding from a United Nations commission of inquiry, which concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestine in Gaza. Guardiola's powerful speech adds a significant and influential voice to this growing chorus of concern, highlighting the role of sports figures in global humanitarian debates.
