Pep Guardiola issues support for Kyle Walker following racist abuse after Juventus defeat | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has come out in support of Kyle Walker following racist abuse directed towards the club captain after the defeat to Juventus.

In a statement released by Manchester City on their club website this week, the Premier League champions said, “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse that Kyle Walker was subject to online following last night’s fixture.”

The statement continued, “We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online. We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received.”

Walker himself followed the club’s lead with a statement of his own issued on Instagram, as he wrote, “No one should ever be subject to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match.

“Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.

“To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve, and to turn the corner together.”

And now, speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the meeting with Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, manager Pep Guardiola said, “First, it’s unacceptable. But not because it’s Kyle (Walker), for every human being.”

The Manchester City manager continued, “Unfortunately today in the real world it happens many times. Of course it’s not necessary to say the support that he has from the entire club, of course from all the staff, backroom staff, all the people there.

“But it’s not because it’s Kyle, unfortunately it happens in every department of our society. It’s completely unacceptable, and we are in full support of him.”

Manchester City come into this weekend’s Manchester derby clash against Ruben Amorim’s United squad off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Juventus that left them 22nd in the UEFA Champions League table.

Things are not going much better for City in the Premier League either, whilst their overall record over the last 10 matches across all competitions has seen the club win just once and lose on seven occasions in that time.

Pep Guardiola will have a severely depleted defensive unit for the visit of the Old Trafford club this weekend, with Rico Lewis’ suspension adding to injuries being managed by Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and John Stones.