Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has openly criticised Israel’s military operations in Gaza, stating that the international community has effectively ‘abandoned’ the Palestinian population.
The Catalan coach shared his strong views during an interview on Spanish radio on Monday.
‘Every time I picture what the people of Palestine are going through, it feels like the entire world has left them completely on their own,’ the 54-year-old told RAC1 radio.
‘But I imagine the people there waiting for us to lift a finger, to do something, and that no one has done anything at all. They are not to blame for being born in Palestine. The boys or girls, fathers or mothers, or grandmothers and grandfathers born there.
‘There, for a very long time now, we have allowed the destruction of an entire people. Because they say, “don’t say genocide”, I wonder what it is then. The people who live there, we’ve abandoned them.
‘I can’t imagine a person in this world who could defend this. I can’t wrap my head around it. I know Jewish people, we all do, we know people from Israel. I haven’t met anyone who would defend it, the images we see.
‘And the way the world is set up, be it [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Donald] Trump, [Volodymyr] Zelensky, Trump again, [Vladimir] Putin, whoever it is, because it’s not about siding with who is right. It’s that they see the images, and our children could be there.
‘I have little faith. Given how the world has been in recent years, there has always been little faith in regular leaders. I believe leaders do intend to do things well, to fix things so people can live better.
‘I am absolutely taking the side of Palestine, the innocent people who are murdered daily, because the man drawing this up decides what he decides. Because if he is not capable of solving it through a ceasefire, gesture, the symbolism you mentioned, and only through force. One has extremely powerful weapons and the other does not, then you tell me.’
Guardiola made these comments in the build-up to Tuesday’s ACT x Palestine charity friendly match between Catalonia and Palestine, which is being held at the Lluis Companys Stadium in Barcelona.
More than 25,000 tickets have already been sold for the fixture, with every penny of the proceeds directed towards humanitarian aid and rebuilding efforts in Gaza.
Approximately 70,000 Palestinians have lost their lives since the October 7 attacks of 2023, according to figures released by the Gaza Health Ministry.
‘It’s more than just a symbolic match,’ the ex-Barcelona manager said when discussing the charity game this week.
‘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 Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli