'It Hurts Me' - Guardiola Vows To Speak Up On Conflicts -

Pep Guardiola says he wants to use his position to “speak up to be a better society” as he talked at a football news conference about the “hurt” he feels for victims of global conflict.

The Manchester City manager missed media duties last Friday, a day after speaking in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in his home city of Barcelona.

And speaking ahead of City’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle on Wednesday, Guardiola spoke passionately about children being killed and injured in conflict zones across the world, saying the footage he sees “hurts me”.

He referenced conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan and even recent shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the United States.

“Today we can see it, before we could not see it,” said Guardiola. “It hurts me. If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. I’m sorry, I will stand up, always I will be there. Always. Completely kill thousands of innocent people? It hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more.

“I cannot imagine how anybody cannot feel that, when you see the images every single day, the fathers, mothers, kids, having what happened, their lives being destroyed and the people cannot feel a little bit of being attached? I’m sorry, I cannot feel it.”

READ ALSO: Rashford cleared to complete Barcelona loan move

Asked by the Athletic why these subjects matter so much to him, Guardiola replied: “I appreciate it because it’s the first time in 10 years that one journalist asks me about that.

“It looks like you [the media] are not allowed to do it for your work, I don’t know.

“But there is somebody who sees the images from all around the world – the wars – who is not affected? It’s not a question about right or wrong.”

Guardiola began talking about the global issues without being asked about them – the initial question was on Phil Foden’s recent form before a follow-up one on injustices felt by his players at the hands of match officials following Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham.

Guardiola refused to blame the referee saying the reason they play good or bad “belongs to us”, while decisions are about “images” not “interpretation”.

The Spaniard then referenced global conflicts by saying: “Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now – genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world – in Sudan, everywhere.