Manchester City's manager Voices Regret Over Broadcast Crew Altercation Following Loss to Newcastle

Pep Guardiola has admitted feeling "shame" following an exchange with a TV crew member in the wake of Manchester City's loss away to the Magpies on Saturday.

At full time, an emotional Guardiola entered the St James’ Park pitch and had heated discussions with match official Sam Barrott and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães, and also touched the headphones of the camera operator.

"I said sorry," the manager remarked. "I'm humiliated, regretful, when I see it. I don’t like it. I apologised after one second to the operator. That's just me. 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, without a doubt. The reason why I support my squad is clear – because from my experience to win the Premier League we need near-perfect totals, high nineties, or we fall short."

Team Standing and Manager's Take

City are third and are seven behind the Gunners after what was their fourth league defeat of the season. "Losing four games out of 12 we have to improve a lot," Guardiola admitted. "Mathematically, it’s possible to win everything."

When questioned if this meant the quadruple was a realistic aim, Guardiola answered: "You are an experienced journalist, did you hear my talk about the quadruple in December when we won the quadruple? No."

Interaction with Guimarães

Regarding his confrontation with Guimarães, Guardiola said: "We have known Bruno a long time and every time after the game, even at the Etihad, we talk in the tunnel. We often meet and we get along well. I love it. I'm passionate, I love to talk and gesticulate."

Guardiola would not be concerned should a rival coach addressed his squad immediately after a game. "No - as long as it's respectful as I do, it's fine," he said, mentioning the referee. "The referee was involved for 95 minutes, 98 minutes, constantly. Goodness, very much so."

Controversial Decisions

The team felt aggrieved that the officials did not award City a penalty for a Fabian Schär challenge against Foden, and doubted if Guimarães was offside when Harvey Barnes scored the decisive strike. Pictures published later indicate the Brazilian was onside.

Next Big Match

He will manage his century in Europe versus Leverkusen this week. "It’s quite good, it means that every season annually," he commented.

The club has ten points after four games in the group, and Leverkusen hold five.

Kristina Rojas
Kristina Rojas

A tech futurist and AI researcher with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and emerging technologies.