Guardiola ignores FA charge and wears yellow ribbon at Wembley

The FA had demanded that the City manager stop wearing his ribbon, threatening him with a fine or even a touchline ban if he did not obey their ruling. 

However Guardiola, who has until the 5th of March to respond to the charge, ignored the ruling, and once again wore the ribbon when his side travelled to Wembley to take on Arsenal in the EFL Cup final on Sunday. 

The yellow ribbon demonstrates support for Catalan politicians Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who were jailed in October 2017. The pair are part of the Catalan independence movement, which has caused huge controversy in Spain. 

The FA charged Guardiola due to a UEFA rule that forbids players or managers from displaying political messages on their kits or clothes. They had contacted the ex-Barcelona manager twice, asking him to remove the symbol from his person on the touchline, but he ignored their requests. When asked about the issue in December, he made it clear that he would not be stopping until the politicians were freed. “I do that because in Spain two specific people who defend something like the vote, something the people in command do not agree [with], are in prison. It’s unfair", he stated.  

“To make a rebellion on something like that, you have to be something tough to be in prison. And they are still there. So, while they are not out, always here [pointing to ribbon] will be shared with me. Because, OK, they can suspend me for doing that but the other people are in jail. If they want to suspend me – Uefa, Premier League, Fifa – it’s OK.”