Pep Guardiola on Palestine, Ukraine and ICE raids: “It hurts me”
The Manchester City coach attended a Palestine charity concert in Barcelona last week.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola used his team’s press conference on Tuesday to draw attention to victims of conflicts around the world.
Guardiola has used his platform to advocate for philanthropic causes in the past and he gave an impassioned plea, referencing Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan and the victims of the shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis.
“Today we can see it, before we could not see it,” the City boss said. “It hurts me. If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. I’m sorry, I will stand up, always I will be there. Always. Completely kill thousands of innocent people? It hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more.”
“I cannot imagine how anybody cannot feel that, when you see the images every single day, the fathers, mothers, kids, having what happened, their lives being destroyed and the people cannot feel a little bit of being attached? I’m sorry, I cannot feel it.”
What did Guardiola say about ICE?
At one point in the far-reaching conversation, Guardiola reflected on the United Kingdom’s border crossing situation and the tragic events in Minneapolis in recent weeks.
Guardiola explained: “When I see the images, I am sorry it hurts. That is why in every position I can help speak up to be a better society, I will try and will be there. All the time. It is for my kids, my families, for you.
“From my point of view, the justice? You have to talk. Otherwise it will just move on. Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed. Tell me how you can defend that?
Last Friday Guardiola missed his scheduled Premier League press conference to return to his native Barcelona to appear at a charity concert in support of Palestinian children. In the past he has worn the yellow ribbon in solidarity with the Catalan pro-independence activists who were imprisoned or in exile. Guardiola has often shown an awareness of and an interest in current affairs.
On Tuesday he told reporters: “Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now - 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."
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