Pep Guardiola refuses to apologize for his criticism of Manchester City fans. For Pep, he was just trying to be honest about the existing conditions.
A landslide victory 6-3 over RB Leipzig in the first matchday of Group A of the Champions League, Thursday (16/9/2021) ended in an unpleasant way for Guardiola and City fans.
It started with Guardiola’s comments about the Etihad stadium which was less crowded by the support of City fans. It is known, UEFA is still limiting the number of spectators present at the stadium due to the corona virus pandemic.
However, Guardiola felt the fans who attended were not enough to meet the quota allowed by UEFA. As a result, ‘Emptyhad’ jokes resurfaced regarding the lack of City supporters filling the stadium.
Guardiola’s criticism was met with fierce response by a group of City supporters who felt the Spanish manager was ungrateful. Because so far City fans have always filled the stadium and even if they are unable to attend, it is for an important reason.
City supporters also asked Guardiola to focus on managing the team and not worrying about how to support the team. Regarding this, Guardiola did not want to apologize because he had already spoken about the actual condition.
Even if City fans hate him and don’t want to see Guardiola on the sidelines, the former Barcelona coach is ready to step down.
“Did I say after the game against Leipzig that I was disappointed that the stadium was not full? Please interpret it yourself. I will not apologize for what I said. What I said was that we are happy with the support of the fans and we need that,” said Pep Guardiola. quoted Independent.
“It doesn’t matter how many people come, but I invite them to come and enjoy the game because we need their support.”
“I’m happy with the support of the fans in the match against Leipzig. If you want to come, then that’s nice. I never asked why the fans didn’t come. If you can’t come, then don’t come.”
“I never want to be a problem for the fans. If indeed I am a problem for the fans, then I will resign. It doesn’t matter really, I am one of them,” he concluded.
(mrp/rin)
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