Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola used his press conference before the Champions League game against Hoffenheim to praise Raheem Sterling and address the wider issue of racism in football.
Sterling has won plenty of praise for the way he behaved in the face of provocation from Chelsea fans as he retrieved a ball at Stamford Bridge. The club has suspended four fans while an investigation takes place.
Today, Guardiola said Sterling was an “incredible human being” for the way he has confronted the broader issues of racism in society. After the game, Sterling issued a statement which accused the media of fuelling racism in the way it reports on certain stories about black players.
“I was concerned with what happened but he made a statement on Instagram and was quite clear about his thoughts," said Guardiola. “He’s an incredible person, an incredible human being. It’s tough in the 21st century to still be in this position, to have problems with diversity. We have to be better, everyone.
"It’s everywhere, racism is everywhere. People focus on football but it’s not just in football. You’d think in football we’d be safe but racism is everywhere.
“What happens today – how we treat immigrants and refugees, when once in our lives our grandfathers were refugees. It’s everywhere. That’s why we have to fight every day.
“We have to fight for human rights to make a better society for the future. Today it’s dangerous, not just in England, all across Europe.
“The message for the politicians is for them to be tough on human rights and we have to defend democracy in the best way.”
"Today the real power is the media, not politicians, not the governments. It’s the media.”
Guardiola said comments about players should be restricted to performance. He said: “Hopefully the criticism is when he plays s***, he plays bad. That would be perfect. Everyone is exposed to that – the managers, the players, everyone around the world. But just for the colour of his skin? Believe me, that’s ridiculous and that’s why everyone has to protect from that situation.”
We have to fight every day. I appreciate what Chelsea did and it it happened in my club we would do the same.
