Guardiola delivers speech in support of Palestinian children

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola delivered a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in Barcelona. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 31 January 2026
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Guardiola delivers speech in support of Palestinian children

  • Star Manchester City manager wore keffiyeh at charity concert in Barcelona
  • They have been ‘abandoned’ because ‘those in power are cowards’

LONDON: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola delivered a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in Barcelona, calling for greater action to protect them.

The star manager, 55, wore a keffiyeh and spoke passionately about his pain at seeing the suffering of Palestinian children, Sky News reported.

“Good evening, salam alaikum, how wonderful,” he told the crowd. “When I see a child in these past two years with these images on social media, on television, recording himself pleading ‘where is my mother?’ among the rubble and he still doesn’t know it.

“And I always think, ‘What must they be thinking?’ And I think we’ve left them alone, abandoned.” He added: “I always imagine them saying, ‘Where are you? Come help us.’”

Guardiola said “even now, we haven’t done it,” because perhaps “those in power are cowards,” adding: “They basically send innocent young people to kill innocent people.”

He demanded a “step forward” as part of what he described as a “statement for Palestine and … a statement for humanity.”


Saudi cultural identity on show at Winter Olympics fashion showcase

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Saudi cultural identity on show at Winter Olympics fashion showcase

  • Skier Rakan Alireza represents the Kingdom at event in Milan, modeling bespoke design by renowned Saudi fashion designer Alya Al-Salmi
  • 17 National Olympic Committees participate in showcase and Saudis are sole representatives of the Arab world

MILAN: Ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, cross-country skier Rakan Alireza represented Team Saudi at an Olympic Winter Games Fashion Showcase hosted by the International Olympic Committee in Milan this week.
He modeled a bespoke design by renowned Saudi fashion designer Alya Al-Salmi at the event on Wednesday, which took place at Clubhouse 26, the official hospitality venue for the Games.
Seventeen National Olympic Committees participated in the showcase and the Saudis were the sole representatives of the Arab world.
The design of Alireza’s outfit was described as drawing inspiration from Saudi heritage, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens that seamlessly blends tradition with modern elegance, offering a visual narrative of national identity presented within an international context.
Regarded as one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent fashion designers, Al-Salmi also created the outfits worn by team Saudi at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The opening ceremony for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is on Friday.