What does Pep Guardiola’s yellow ribbon mean?
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is facing sanctions from the English FA for continuing to wear a yellow ribbon.
During the celebrations of Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Arsenal in the English League Cup, Pep Guardiola and members of his backroom staff could be seen wearing yellow ribbons. Just two days beforehand, Guardiola was sanctioned by the English FA for wearing the same yellow ribbon during the Citizen’s 1-0 defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup.
The 47-year-old now has until March 5 to respond to the sanctions before an independent commission decides if he’s guilty of breaching any rules. The whole fiasco might be a bit confusing for those not up to date with Spanish politics, so here’s all you need to know about what Guardiola’s yellow ribbon stands for, and why the FA are taking action against the City manager.
What is the yellow ribbon?
The yellow ribbon is a symbol of Catalonian independence. Catalonia, where Guardiola was born, is one of 17 autonomous regions that make up Spain, each with a certain level of self-government in accordance with the constitution.
In October 2017, Catalonia held an independence referendum, illegal under Spanish law. The Spanish government responded by sending in armed to police to stop the vote from taking place, resulting in injuries to hundreds of people.
Following the referendum, the Spanish government in Madrid took power away from the Catalan regional government and many Catalan politicians were arrested for their roles in the illegal referendum.
Many pro-independence movements have encouraged sympathizers to wear yellow ribbons as a show of support. Because of the color yellow’s association with the independence movement, the Spanish government have cracked down on its use.
The FA has its own rules banning players and managers from making political statements. Guardiola, by wearing the ribbon, has been deemed guilty of breaching those rules, and could face a punishment anywhere from a fine to a touchline ban.
What did Guardiola have to say about it?
Guardiola has been warned by both the English FA and UEFA before Friday about his yellow ribbon and on both occasions, the City manager has insisted on continuing to wear it. “Before a manager, I am a human being,” he said. “They [English FA] know I will wear the yellow ribbon always. It’s not about politicians, it’s about democracy; its about helping the people who didn’t do absolutely anything.”
His stance has been met with some mixed reception, some agreeing with Guardiola’s stance and others questioning why he feels so strongly about the wrongdoings in Spain, but not those of his employers. Manchester City are owned by a member of the ruling family in the United Arab Emirates, a nation that has been repeatedly criticized for human rights violations.
The City manager claimed that, “every country decides the way they want to live,” a surprisingly naive rebuttal from the Catalan.
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What does all this mean?
In the end, Guardiola will likely be found guilty by the FA of breaching its political message rules. We’ll have to see what his punishment is, and what his reaction to that punishment will be.
You can criticize Guardiola for his selective stance on human rights violations given the track record of his employers, but then the issue of Catalan independence is understandably close to his heart and he’s trying to make his voice heard.
And indeed, if we can criticize Guardiola for being selective, we can criticize the whole of the soccer community for allowing people like Sheikh Mansour and his family a place in the sport. It truly is a deep a rabbit hole with no easy answers.