Pep Guardiola tells Manchester City supporters to ‘be happy’ and not boo the Champions League anthem
Pep Guardiola tells Man City fans to ‘be happy’ and not shout the Champions League anthem – as the Spaniard insists ‘what happens in the past is the past’
- Pep Guardiola does not want Manchester City fans booing the Champions League anthem
- Supporters have traditionally booed the pre-match song in a show of defiance
- Guardiola has told fans he is ‘happy’ about reaching the grand European final
Pep Guardiola has pleaded with Manchester City supporters to ‘celebrate’ their entry into the Champions League final and not cheer for the pre-match anthem.
City fans have made it a point in recent years to shout out the famous Champions League song as a show of disapproval towards UEFA.
Antipathy towards the organization stems from a chain of events that began when Porto supporters racially insulted then-City striker Mario Balotelli during the 2011-12 season. The Portuguese club was fined less than £20,000 for the incident.
More anger followed just two years later when it emerged that the club had breached Financial Fair Play rules in 2014.
However, Guardiola wants the Istanbul pre-match ritual scrapped as his City side look to lift a first European trophy and achieve the famous Treble.
Pep Guardiola has told Manchester City supporters not to swear at the Champions League anthem
City fans have instead been encouraged to do their famous ‘Poznan’ pre-match dance
City will try to win the Champions League on Saturday when they play against Inter Milan
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, the Spaniard agreed with midfielder Ilkay Gundogan’s comments earlier this week: “I agree with Ilkay, it’s a day to celebrate.
Inter fans, City fans, a day to be happy. Celebrate being here. Finite, what happens in the past is the past.
“It’s an incredible competition, UEFA organizes it, we support what they do unconditionally. We are not going to shout and have fun again,” Guardiola added.
City fans started their FA Cup final victory over Manchester United by doing their famous ‘Poznan’ dance pre-match and were rewarded with a goal after less than a minute when Gundogan blasted past De Gea.
Guardiola (centre) told defiant City supporters to enjoy the occasion and not boo the national anthem
Earlier this week, the City captain called on his loyal fanbase to do the same again ahead of the Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
Gundogan stated, “Our fans will be as important to us again this weekend as they always are. You only have to watch Saturday’s game at Wembley to see how important they are to our performance.”
Our fans were amazing from start to finish. Hearing them sing Blue Moon in the tunnel, the deafening atmosphere as we walked onto the pitch to a sea of blue, the Poznan as we waited for the game to start on the pitch, it was incredible and, in my opinion, helped us score after 13 seconds.
“To score so early was an incredible feeling and it felt like a reward for how great our fans were. Now we need them again in Istanbul.