Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, recently spoke out against the human rights violence and injustice among the nations in a press conference. He further made a plea to halt this heinous injustice against human lives just months before the FIFA World Cup.
The manager explored more than just football before Manchester City’s Carabao Cup semi-final press conference. He made a remarkable and brave gesture, calling out the global tragedies and expressing his distress over the atrocious shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during an immigration enforcement operation.
“Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed,” Guardiola stated. “Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now.”
The 55-year-old further explored the conflicts and streak of losing lives around the world.
“The genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world, in Sudan, everywhere,” he said, referring to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. “What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. It’s our problems.”
Turning back to the Minnesota shootings, Guardiola asked how such acts could be justified.
“Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. Tell me how you can defend that,” he said. “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 family, for you.”
He also claimed that society is not perfect. However, the responsibility lay with everyone. “There is no perfect society, nowhere is perfect, I am not perfect, we have to work to be better.”
Guardiola also pointed to Pretti’s profession to emphasize the human cost of the incident. “A nurse, NHS. Imagine the NHS. Five, six people around him, go on the grass and 10 shots,” he said, referring to Pretti, who worked as an intensive care nurse at a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. “Tell me how you can defend that?”
The City manager’s remarks followed a question about refereeing decisions but extended well beyond football. They came just days after Guardiola attended a rally in Barcelona supporting Palestinian children. He was present at the event on Thursday night and did not attend a scheduled media conference in Manchester the following day, with assistant Pep Lijnders stepping in to fulfil media duties ahead of Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Guardiola said he felt a personal responsibility to speak out.
“Protecting the human being and human life is the only thing we have,” he said. “Not just in these parts of the world, but every part of the world.
“What is happening right now, with the technologies and advances that we have, humanity is better than ever in terms of possibilities. We can reach the moon; we can do everything. But still, right now, we kill each other. For what? For what?”
He concluded by reaffirming his resolve to use his platform to call for change. “When I see the images, I am sorry, it hurts me. That is why in every position I can help by speaking up to be a better society, I will try and will be there.”
