Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has accepted a English Football Association charge for “wearing a political message”.
Since November, Pep Guardiola has worn a yellow ribbon in a show of support for imprisoned politicians in Catalonia, where he was born and has spent a large part of his life.
However, after two warnings, the FA acted by charging the 47-year-old, who has maintained that he will not stop wearing the ribbon.
Guardiola had until 6pm, GMT, on Monday to answer the punishment, but the Spaniard has opted against launching an appeal against the charge.
The City manager is permitted to wear the yellow ribbon while addressing the media, but not during an FA-affiliated match.
Guardiola said in November: “If one day in prison was already too much, look how many days they’ve been there now.
“Like everybody knows, hopefully sooner or later I can stop wearing it.
“All the politicians that are in prison, I hope they can leave and go back home soon with their families and continue living the lives they deserve.”
In his statement on the recent charge, Guardiola insists that, even though his protest aims to highlight the fates of a jailed group that includes Catalan politicians Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, it is not a political issue.
“When men and women put on a pink ribbon it’s because of the support for the breast cancer initiative,” he said.
“The same when I wear the the prostate cancer badge, it’s the same, the idea is the same, there are a lot of ribbons.
“I’m pretty sure there are people all around the world in Spain and Catalunya who do not want to be independent, but they are not agreeing with putting people in ‘prevention’ jail.
The FA’s stance on the matter differs from European governing body UEFA, who allow the ribbon to be worn. City also believe the symbol is not generally considered offensive
