Guardiola Fined By FA For Yellow Ribbon Protest

Pep Guardiola has been hit with a £20,000 fine by the Football Association and has been warned on his conduct, for wearing a yellow ribbon in support of political prisoners in Catalonia.

The Spaniard accepted the charge on Monday, of wearing a political message, which is in breach of the association’s kit and advertising regulations.

Guardiola began wearing the ribbon as a show of solidarity for political prisoners, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, who have been imprisoned since October as part of a crackdown on the illegal Catalonia Independence Referendum.

A brief statement issued by the FA read: “Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct after admitting an FA charge for wearing a political message, specifically a yellow ribbon, in breach of The FA’s kit and advertising regulations.”

FA chief executive Martin Glenn sparked controversy last weekend when, in response to this stance, he made remarks including a reference to the Star of David that the UK’s Jewish Leadership Council labelled “offensive” and “ill-judged”.

Speaking in response to Glenn’s comments, Guardiola again stated he had been misunderstood.

“Mr Glenn has apologised, so all is well, but the first impression when I heard that was he does not understand what the yellow ribbon means,” he said.

“He made comments that are far away from that. Maybe now he will realise it is not the same.

“It is not about independence or no independence. It is about people who are in jail when they didn’t do absolutely anything to be in jail.

“I think now he is going to understand… the comments were because he did not understand the reality. But now I am pretty sure he will.”