Pep Guardiola confirms he will wear the yellow ribbon

Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, confirmed on Tuesday that he will visibly wear the yellow ribbon in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Basel on Wednesday.

Contrary to the English Football Association (FA), which has opened a disciplinary case against the Catalan coach for wearing it, UEFA does not prohibit wearing symbols with political background.

"The FA has rules, they apply them and I accept them. I have to. That doesn't mean I agree," Guardiola said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Basel match, where his team arrives with a 4-0 advantage achieved in Switzerland.

"How many times have there been decisions that, over time, were proven to be unfair? I accept it, but I don't agree. Wearing it or not, visible or not, the yellow ribbon will always be there," the Catalan coach said.

On February 23, the highest football authority in England opened a disciplinary case against the City manager for contravening the advertising rules of the entity by displaying "a political message" on his clothing, "specifically a yellow ribbon".

The ribbon has become a symbol of protest by the separatists of Catalonia to demand the freedom of the 'Jordis' - Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart - in prison for more than four months, and of Joaquim Forn and Oriol Junqueras, imprisoned since November 2, all in pre-trial detention for their involvement in the independence process.

"I am in this country working and in the midst of all the rules. That doesn't mean I agree or not; it doesn't mean they are right or not. I said it from the beginning: if the FA feels that I shouldn't wear the ribbon, I will accept it. But whether I wear it or not means nothing," Guardiola commented.

In his last game, played last Sunday at home against Chelsea (1-0), the Spanish coach did not visibly wear the ribbon and replaced it on the lapel with a yellow daffodil in support of the Marie Curie Foundation against cancer.

On Tuesday, when Guardiola was asked about the controversial statements made by Martin Glenn, FA chairman, who compared the ribbon to the Star of David, the Nazi swastika, and Robert Mugabe, the Spanish coach assured that the chairman said that because "he did not understand what the ribbon means".

"Martin Glenn has apologized. However, my first impression when I saw that (the statements) is that he had not understood the reasons behind the yellow ribbon. He made a comment very far from reality," he asserted.

"Maybe now he knows what it means. It's not about independence or non-independence (of Catalonia); it's about people who are in prison for doing nothing, it's as simple as that," he concluded.