"It Hurts Me" Pep Guardiola Calls Out Global Silence on Gaza

Pep Guardiola’s latest comments mark a sustained, multi-month intervention by one of Europe’s most prominent sports managers into the politics of war and civilian protection, weaving Gaza into a broader indictment of global conflict from Ukraine to Sudan.

Speaking in Manchester on Tuesday ahead of an English League Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, the 55-year-old framed violence as a universal human concern rather than a distant geopolitical abstraction, reinforcing a pattern of public advocacy that has stretched from Spain to England across at least three key dates in 2025.

Moral Authority Meets Matchday Platforms

At the news conference, Guardiola said the world now has unprecedented access to information about wars, pointing to “the genocide in Palestine” alongside conflicts in Ukraine, Russia and Sudan, arguing that suffering everywhere is impossible to ignore.

The remarks extended statements he made on Jan. 29 while wearing a keffiyeh at a charity event in Spain, where he said Palestinians had been “abandoned”, lamenting on how everyone has left them alone.

His June 10 remarks were among his most emotionally direct, describing what is happening in Gaza pains him deeply, stressing that it is “not about ideology.” He warned that “4 to 5 year old children” were dying under bombardment, adding that if the violence continues, “the next child could be ours.”

On Oct. 4, 2025, Guardiola went further, urging people to take to the streets of Barcelona the following day to protest what he described as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“We Will Stand Up!”

Guardiola has consistently emphasized personal obligation over institutional roles, arguing that technological progress has not translated into moral restraint. During his Manchester appearance, he returned to the same theme, stressing that images from war zones “hurt” regardless of nationality. He reiterated a line he has used before:

When you have an idea and you need to defend it, and you have to kill thousands, thousands of people? I’m sorry, I will stand up! Always, I will be there, always!

Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola

The manager also referenced domestic unrest in the United States, citing the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement officials during operations linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Guardiola asked how such incidents would be received if they involved a nurse in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, underscoring his broader point that state power and public accountability are inseparable.

Civilian Toll and Global Silence

Guardiola’s interventions have been anchored by stark figures from Gaza. Israel’s war on the enclave has killed more than 71 thousand people and wounded 171,575 since October 2023, a figure Israel’s military has confirmed recently.

At least 10 people, including a 4 year old girl, were killed in Israeli attacks on a single Wednesday referenced in Guardiola’s remarks. He has repeatedly highlighted the vulnerability of children, returning to the same age bracket - 4 to 5 years old - to personalize what otherwise risks becoming abstract statistics.

Guardiola is among a small number of elite football managers to speak repeatedly on Palestine, positioning himself as a moral actor rather than a neutral celebrity. His comments trace a consistent line: war is not a distant spectacle, and silence is itself a choice.