Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lost his cool on the FA Cup semifinal schedule despite a narrow victory over Chelsea to book a place in the cup final, MySportDab reports.
In a live interview with the BBC commentary team after the match, the Spaniard furiously engage the team on the incongruencies of regimented and congested match schedules for Manchester City and other clubs in the English topflight.
According to him, they affect the health and productivity of the players and drain the competitive edge of English clubs compared to their other European counterparts.
‘It’s unacceptable. Because I’ve won I have the courage to tell you. For the health of the players, it’s not normal. I don’t understand how we survived today.
‘’Why play today and not tomorrow, when Coventry, Chelsea, and United didn’t play in the midweek?
‘’Why not have one more day for the health of the players? Tell me how you prepare for this final against Chelsea in the best moment of the season. How? It’s impossible. There’s no chance.
In the video captured at the end of this post, Pep Guardiola went on to call domestic and continental football’s governing bodies to rejig their match schedules, adding he has sounded his concerns on numerous occasions but has not been heard.
Manchester City played Chelsea at Wembley for a slot in the FA Cup final three days after they played 120 minutes against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal.
It is not the first time Pep Guardiola has spoken against congested schedules. Before the two-legged Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid, the Spaniard had openly lashed out at English football authorities for choosing to play the FA Cup on Saturdays not Sundays when such fixtures may affect teams playing in European cup competitions.
Video;
Pep Guardiola was not happy that Manchester City had to play the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday after facing Real Madrid on Wednesday.#BBCFootball #FACup pic.twitter.com/YaAKsLwTfG
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 20, 2024
