Pep Guardiola Expresses Remorse Over Broadcast Crew Altercation Following Loss to Magpies

The City boss confessed feeling "shame" after an exchange with a TV crew member in the wake of the Citizens' 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

At full time, a visibly upset Guardiola entered the St James’ Park pitch and had heated discussions with match official Sam Barrott and Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimarães, and also touched the headphones of the camera operator.

"I said sorry," the manager remarked. "I feel embarrassed, ashamed, when I see it. It's not acceptable. I apologised after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am. With a thousand matches under my belt I’m not a perfect person, errors happen."

"What is for sure, I stand by my team and club, that’s for sure. Why I want to defend my team is clear – because from my experience to win the Premier League we have to do 100 points, 98 points, or we fall short."

City's Position and Guardiola's Assessment

The team sits in third and trail leaders Arsenal by seven points after what was their fourth league defeat this campaign. "Four defeats in twelve matches means we must do better," he conceded. "Technically, we can to win everything."

When questioned about a potential quadruple was a realistic aim, he responded: "As a seasoned reporter, have you ever heard me discuss four trophies in December when we won the quadruple? Never."

Exchange with Bruno

On the subject of his talk with the Newcastle player, the coach explained: "We have known Bruno a long time and every time after the game, home or away, we talk in the tunnel. We often meet and we get along well. I enjoy it. I'm passionate, I like discussing and move my hands."

He wouldn't mind should a rival coach spoke to his players immediately after a game. "No - as long as you talk with respect as I do, it's fine," he said, mentioning the referee. "The referee was involved throughout the match, he was involved. Goodness, very much so."

Controversial Decisions

The team felt aggrieved that the officials did not award City a penalty on a Schär tackle on Phil Foden, and doubted Bruno's positioning when Harvey Barnes scored Newcastle’s 70th-minute winner. Subsequent images indicate the Brazilian was onside.

Next Big Match

Guardiola will take charge his century in Europe against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. "That's impressive, it means that every season annually," he commented.

City have 10 points from four matches of the league phase, and Leverkusen hold five.

Rita Walker
Rita Walker

A UK-based business consultant specializing in digital transformation and process engineering for SMEs.