What has the profession forgotten? Guardiola coaches journalists too

Pep Guardiola’s press conference was not a routine preview of a Manchester City match. Nor was it about tactics, results, or team selection. What happened was something else entirely.

The coach, known for teaching football with philosophical rigour, stepped off the pitch and asked a painful question about an entire profession: why is the press silent? Guardiola, synonymous with modern football and his historic partnership with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, did not shed his role as a coach. Instead, he expanded it.

Guardiola’s press conference a place for reflection

In a moment that felt sincere and unplanned, the press conference turned into a space for reflection when a journalist asked him:

Why do these issues matter so much to you?

Guardiola smiled, then replied with frustration:

I appreciate this question, because in ten years — or even the last two — this is the first time a journalist has asked me that. It’s as if talking about these issues isn’t allowed in your work. I don’t know.

This was not a throwaway comment. It exposed a deep failure in media practice, especially when compared to coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Then, sports press conferences became political platforms overnight. Players and coaches were routinely asked for political positions. No one complained about “politicising sport”. Neutrality vanished — but only in one direction.

Now, Guardiola speaks against that selective silence. He is not defending himself, but protesting the lack of scrutiny around Israel’s war of extermination in Palestine, which has killed more than 70,000 civilians and destroyed the foundations of life. That silence extends beyond Gaza. It reaches Sudan, where war has displaced millions, and a global climate fuelled by racism and hate against migrants.

Guardiola’s criticism was not aimed at one journalist. It was directed at an entire media system hiding behind the idea of “separating sport from politics”.

That principle has been used to ignore crimes and violations — particularly those committed by Israel — while athletes who express solidarity with Palestine face smears, silencing, and symbolic punishment. This has happened to figures such as Anwar Ghazi, Noussair Mazraoui, and Ons Jabeur.

Sports journalism is not light entertainment or a harmless supplement. It is journalism. It carries responsibility, accountability, and a duty to side with humanity against systems of oppression. Yet many outlets choose safety. They rebrand silence as “sportsmanship” and neutrality as morality. The irony is that these institutions fully understand the power of sport. FIFA president Gianni Infantino once called football “global magic”.

That magic becomes dangerous when it escapes the approved script.

Once again, Guardiola left the pitch — not to explain a game plan or an injury — but to offer a lesson:

Never before in human history has information been so visible. What’s happening in Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan. When I see these images, I feel pain. That’s why I will do everything I can to help build a better society.

This was not a political speech. It was a reminder of journalism’s most basic duty: to see, to ask, and to refuse silence.

This time, the journalists found themselves back in training — while the football manager reminded them of their job.

Featured image via Youtube