Pep slapped with fine over ribbon protest
MANCHESTER City boss Pep Guardiola has been fined £20,000 for wearing a yellow ribbon on the touchline, the FA has announced.
He has also been warned as to his future conduct by the governing body after admitting a charge of “wearing a political message”.
Guardiola has argued wearing the symbol, in support of imprisoned politicians in Catalonia, is not political but has accepted it is in breach of the FA’s kit and advertising regulations.
He has not apologised for the gesture but has said he will stop wearing it during domestic matches in order to observe — rather than respect — the rules.
The Catalonia-born City boss will continue to wear the ribbon for pre and post-match media commitments, however.
This is permitted as the FA’s kit and advertising regulations refer specifically to the technical area during games.
He can also wear it during Champions League matches, as he did for Wednesday’s clash against Basel, because it is not a breach of Uefa codes.
Guardiola started wearing the ribbon last autumn following October’s independence referendum in Catalonia, which was declared illegal by Spain. It is understood he ignored two warnings from the FA before being charged after last month’s FA Cup loss at Wigan.
Guardiola said: “I accept the decision because I have to do, but that doesn’t mean I agree or not, or they are right or not. I am working here and there are rules and I accept them.
“I said from the beginning if the FA considers I shouldn’t wear the yellow ribbon I would accept it but the fact that I wear it or not doesn’t mean anything.
“The yellow ribbon is always going to be there, whether you see it or not, even if I wear it in the press conference, post-match, the situation doesn’t change, there are still people in prison in an unfair way.” MAURICIO Pochettino believes Juventus have taught Tottenham how to become specialists in success.
Spurs suffered Champions League heartache at the hands of the Serie A champions when a 2-1 defeat at Wembley on Wednesday saw Juventus go through 4-3 on aggregate.
Tottenham boss Pochettino said Juventus owner Andrea Agnelli and chief executive Giuseppe Marotta spent time in the tunnel before, during and after the midweek game.
He felt the Italian club did everything in their power to ensure it was they who would progress to the quarter-finals, including attempting to put pressure on Polish official Szymon Marciniak.
The Argentinian manager thinks his Premier League team can learn from that culture.
“I think it’s a massive situation that you must learn from.
“If we only see the stats from the two games, I think Tottenham was the much better team,” Pochettino said.
“It’s in the small details that the competitions sometimes demand different things.
“I think Juventus are specialists because they have the habit to win, the habit to put pressure on the referee.
“It’s a club with a culture to do everything to try to help the team.”
Spurs return to action at Bournemouth tomorrow and Pochettino insists they cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves.
“It’s now a moment to think of the next game,” he said.
“The competition doesn’t wait for you, the team has to move on and think about the weekend.”
Midfielder Eric Dier sustained an elbow injury against Juventus and is a doubt for the game.
Defender Toby Alderweireld remains unavailable because of a hamstring problem, while fullback Serge Aurier is back in contention after his European suspension.