gkingmusik reports that the City boss came under criticism after sharing his emotional response to violence affecting civilians in conflict zones, including Palestine and Ukraine. Some Jewish community leaders urged him to concentrate on football and cautioned him about his choice of words.

Speaking at a news conference, as reported by BBC Sport on Friday, Guardiola stood firm on his stance.

“Why should I not express what I feel, just because I am a manager?” he said at a news conference,” he said.

Guardiola explained that he feels a responsibility to use his platform to promote compassion and social awareness. He stressed that he condemns all conflicts equally and rejected the idea of ranking one tragedy above another.

“What I said basically is, how many conflicts are there right now all around the world? How many? A lot, I condemn all of them,” Guardiola said.

“If innocent people are being killed, I condemn them all and not put a selection on one being more important than the other.”

He added that misunderstanding his message would not change his position, noting that he would not alter his views to satisfy critics.

When asked whether he would limit his comments to football going forward, Guardiola challenged the notion that professionals should only speak within their own field.

“OK, you focus on being a journalist, and you cannot talk about the economy, because you are not an economic journalist,” he said.

“Being involved in football, don’t talk about that or that or that. That’s why the world remains silent. That is what the world wants, right? Be silent, don’t say anything.”

Guardiola reiterated that silence is not the right response, even if others disagree.

His remarks follow a recent speech at a charity event in Barcelona, where he expressed support for Palestinian children.

Ahead of City’s Carabao Cup semi final against Newcastle, he also spoke about the emotional toll of seeing images of children harmed in conflict zones such as Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan and incidents involving US immigration agents.