Guardiola: I am not neutral.. I am Palestinian

Saleh Al-Rashed: What Guardiola is doing will not liberate Palestine, but it protects the truth from falsification and rings a bell that the whole world hears in support of the cause of Palestine and its people.
 Ahed Farawneh: This stance has a great impact in supporting our people, especially since it comes from the biggest and most important coach in the world, and the world awaits his statements.
Kazem Ladawiya: Guardiola did not hear Omar ibn al-Khattab's saying when he said: "He who lives only for himself does not deserve to be born," but he felt it with his humanity.
Hisham Tayem: Guardiola's stances reflect humanitarian motives that any citizen should have, regardless of their color, race, or religion, so as not to turn into a predatory animal.
Yass Al-Khafaji: What drives Guardiola to such stances is the human feeling of the tragedy experienced by the Palestinian people in general and the people of Gaza in particular.
Fathi Barahmeh: What Guardiola wants is to translate the humanitarian meanings of sports.. and football is the message of peace included in the slogans and principles of FIFA worldwide.

Exclusive to Al-Quds-

The statements of Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, supporting Palestine, generated widespread reactions among sports fans, expressing their appreciation for the Spanish star and his humanitarian stance and his bias towards the values of truth, justice, and freedom. A number of sports analysts and writers also expressed their appreciation for the Spanish star's stance, considering these statements as a wake-up call to make the suffering of the Palestinian people reach the whole world.


 Guardiola publicly supports Palestinian rights

Saleh Al-Rashed, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Sports Media Club, says:
The Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, coach of English Manchester City, continues to shed light on the truth and stand with it and publicly support Palestinian rights, which constitutes an important and distinctive phenomenon in European circles, most of which support Israel. Guardiola's stance is part of his personality with a humanitarian sense seeking to support the oppressed in the world, by focusing on humanity and justice.
He adds: It is known that Guardiola's support is not limited to Palestine alone, but he stands with the oppressed anywhere in the world. This makes his stance part of a broader vision of human justice, and in the current era, there is no people as oppressed as the Palestinian people who face global Zionism with its power and huge media machine to be the candle that illuminates the darkness and breaks the intensity of the darkness.
Guardiola relies on his statements to spread awareness among peoples, exploiting his sophisticated sports image accompanied by multiple achievements as one of the best coaches in the world, which makes many people interact with his statements. He also relies on them not to remain silent in the face of human suffering, as he considers silence to be acceptance of what is happening, and urges them with his humanitarian action to use their fame to remind people first, as they are global influencers, and they can use their fame to draw attention to the suffering of children and innocents, and he stresses the separation between humanity and politics in addition to having moral courage.
Al-Rashed continues: What Guardiola is doing will not liberate Palestine, but it protects the truth from falsification and rings a bell that the whole world hears in support of the cause of Palestine and its people, thus moving the issue from the regional framework to global awareness by breaking silence and stagnation, and it reduces the fear of other athletes from telling the truth that some are afraid to declare, and Guardiola creates a different opinion from what is circulated in Europe and America with moral and media pressure by directing athletes to be human before they are stars, and that their impact outside the field is greater than inside it in victory for truth and innocents.

Guardiola's humanitarian sense
Ahed Farawneh, Secretary of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, said: What drives Guardiola to such stances is his humanitarian sense, as he belongs to a national cause, which is the cause of the Catalonia region seeking independence, and has been exposed to multiple wars and lost thousands.. Therefore, he realizes the extent of the human tragedy we live in Palestine in general and the Gaza Strip in particular.. And what he sees of images and videos coming out of the war of extermination in Gaza has moved his human conscience, because he knows the extent of the injustice inflicted on our people by the Israeli occupation, which commits war crimes according to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
He added: There must be supportive movements for Guardiola at all levels, especially sports, through thank you messages and holding supportive sports events, and highlighting this position appropriately and translating it into all languages of the world so that they know the extent of the injustice our people are exposed to.
Farawneh continued: Certainly, this stance has a great impact in supporting our Palestinian people and the occupation, especially since it comes from the biggest and most important coach in the world and has overwhelming popularity, and the world always awaits his statements, and therefore when he declares support for Palestine and against the injustice our people are exposed to, this constitutes a leverage for us before the world, and makes the spotlight more focused, which we greatly need to increase international support for us and provide protection and end the occupation and injustice.

A stance that carried many lessons and morals
For his part, Kazem Ladawiya, one of the stars of Palestinian football, said: Most world leaders, rich people, and celebrities suppress their humanity in their chests for fear of criticism, and losing position and gains, knowing the ferocity of the expected attack from the unjust and dark system in pressuring every person with a free word and stance, and this is a natural reaction for the general human souls, but whoever carries humanity in his heart truthfully, and strives in his life to raise values and support the oppressed, does not fall into the circle of cowards, but rather gains strength and certainty in the necessity of support at the expense of his fame and wealth, no matter what obstacles and impediments it costs.
He added: Those with exceptional stances constantly strive to initiate attracting others, and recruiting as many conscientious people whose consciences have been absent by misleading or negligence into the circle of truth and support tirelessly, and the greatest sacrifices come from a person who fights injustice even though this injustice did not fall on his society or his homeland, but on a strange society far from his homeland, and without knowing it, he sows shame and disgrace in the faces and chests of the disheartened people of that afflicted homeland, as they look and await support from strangers.
Ladawiya continued: Guardiola did not hear Omar ibn al-Khattab's saying when he said: He who lives only for himself does not deserve to be born, but he felt it with his humanity, and sought to deny it from himself by risking his history, achievements, and money in exchange for fighting for others with a word of truth and an honorable stance from every platform he steps on, to teach the world that sports carry ethics and humanity and raise values in addition to their physical importance.
Ladawiya concluded his speech by saying: Thank you, Guardiola, your stance is influential and carries many lessons and morals, and it will certainly have a positive reaction and an unforgettable impact on the path of liberation from injustice, and the liberation of souls from fear and discouragement.

Humanitarian motives regardless of color, race, and religion
Hisham Tayem, a former player and coach at Al-Wehdat Club, said: Pep Guardiola's stances reflect humanitarian motives that any citizen should have, regardless of their color, race, or religion, because an individual's abandonment of their humanity turns them into a predatory animal.
He added: I believe that in every country there should be movements led by our people, around which other peoples gather. The Palestinian national team in the Arab Cup played its role in introducing the justice of our cause more than dozens of Palestinian ambassadors, and it is the responsibility of Palestinian and Arab communities in every country to hold a day to introduce the cause, Palestinian heritage, and print booklets in the language of the people of the country where they are distributed, introducing Palestine and the injustice and aggression it is exposed to.
Tayem continued: The impact of Guardiola's words may seem simple due to the dominance of Zionist media in those countries, but times have changed, and the peoples' view of the issue has changed, so they have begun to align with our cause.

A global coach with a name
Yass Al-Khafaji, an Iraqi sports archivist, said: What drives Guardiola to such stances is the human feeling of the tragedy experienced by the Palestinian people in general and the people of Gaza in particular. There is no human being on earth who does not sympathize with the families of the afflicted victims, except those who do not have the right to express what is inside them, as you see them as kings and princes or rich people living in palaces, but in reality they are slaves.
He added: Guardiola has no fears whatsoever about his coaching future, as he is a global coach with a name and is sought after to work anywhere in the world, and the Zionist lobby has no authority over him.
Al-Khafaji continued: The required movements to capitalize on Pep's statements are to highlight the crimes of the usurping entity by raising slogans inside stadiums before matches, and Palestinian flags in stadiums, in addition to boycotting Israeli teams, and the absence of fans in stadiums to watch them.
He said: Certainly, the impact of these statements will contribute to clarifying the truth to the deluded Western peoples due to the paid media machine, which has portrayed and still portrays Zionists as victims of Arab peoples, and they are helpless and powerless, and their sole concern is to live in safety.

 Awareness of human conscience

Fathi Barahmeh, a sports journalist, said: If we look at the previous stances and statements of Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, and his keenness to wear the Palestinian keffiyeh, this reflects the awareness of human conscience, and deep sympathy with the cause of our people in its struggle, humanitarian, and ethical dimensions, and his return to launch calls again for solidarity with our people and what they are exposed to of systematic extermination, is an affirmation of the importance and value of broad popular solidarity in curbing aggression, and urging the world to break the intensity of the war, stop the genocide, and the extent of the impact of popular solidarity campaigns in changing the attitudes of many countries and their position on our cause and our national rights.
He added: Guardiola's global personality among millions of football fans will have a direct impact on global football fans, and mobilize more solidarity campaigns and global popular protest activities.
Barahmeh continued: What coach Guardiola wants is to translate the humanitarian meanings of sports, and football is the message of peace included in the slogans and principles of FIFA worldwide, and it is also expected that condemnation and denunciation campaigns will be organized through social media platforms globally, and raising the Palestinian flag and the Palestinian keffiyeh in stadiums around the world, and organizing more marches and chants in international stadiums.
Barahmeh said: Undoubtedly, Guardiola's stances embody the importance of sports and its global civil language in curbing injustice and aggression and doing justice to our people in practicing.

Guardiola wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh
Guardiola made his statements during his participation in a charity event held in Barcelona under the title Act x Palestine, with the presence of artistic, sports, and cultural figures, with the aim of raising awareness and supporting humanitarian issues in Palestine.
Guardiola appeared wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh, and said: "What an honor to be here. I think when I see a child in the last two years, through the images shown on TV, taking a picture of himself and wondering where his mother is, while she is buried under the rubble and he still doesn't know, I always think: What is going through their minds? I think we left them alone and abandoned them. I always think they are telling us: Where are you? Come and help us. And so far, we haven't done that."