MANCHESTER City trainer Pep Guardiola has been fined €22,500 (£20,000) by the UK's Football Association, the FA, for continuing to wear his yellow loop pinned to his jacket during matches, training and press conferences despite instructions not to do so.
Former FC Barcelona manager Guardiola displayed the yellow ribbon during recent Premier League, FA Cup and Spanish League (La Liga) matches, saying, 'if they want to fine me, that's up to them'.
The ribbon is a message of support for the Catalunya politicians and activists currently in prison without bail for their involvement in the disputed independence referendum and, in the case of Jordi Sànchez of the Catalunya National Assembly (ANC) and Jordi Cuixart of Òmnium Cultural, for staging demonstrations outside the regional Parliament building when it was raided by police.
“There are still people who are unfairly in prison, without trial and having done nothing wrong except ask for the right to vote,” Guardiola states.
“I said from the start that if the FA considered I should not be using the yellow ribbon, I would accept their view but whether or not I use it doesn't mean a thing, because it will always be there, whether it's visible or not, even if I wear it at a press conference or after a match – it doesn't matter. The situation has not changed; people are still in prison.”
The FA does not permit the displaying of 'political symbols', hence the fine, although Guardiola says his exhibiting the yellow loop is 'not about the right or the left, not about a political matter'.
“It's for people who say it's not right for people to be in prison for nothing,” the manager states.
FA chairman Martin Glenn insists the yellow loop is, in fact, a political symbol, although he has since apologised for his comparing it with a 'Swastika' or a 'hammer and scythe'.
“To be honest, Pep Guardiola's yellow ribbon is a political symbol, it's a symbol of Catalunya's independence, and all we're doing is applying the rules of the game fairly,” Glenn argues.
SPAIN'S last-minute win against England in the 2024 UEFA Euros comes on the 60th anniversary of the country's first-ever title in the much-followed competition – and has broken numerous records, too.
A HOLLYWOOD legend joining folk-dancers from Asturias and showing off her fancy footwork in the street is not a scene your average Oviedo resident witnesses during his or her weekly shop. Even though their northern...
