Guardiola criticised attendance at Champions League game, Manchester City fans hit back

Manchester City started the Champions League group stage in a really attractive way. They beat RB Leipzig 6:3 in a shootout on home soil. The game had more or less one flaw, it was not a sell-out. Coach Pep Guardiola was not happy about that. The fans are reacting to his comments.

Just over 38,000 spectators were in the stands to watch the Citizens’ big win over the Saxons. There were 55,000 seats available. The stands were therefore less than 70% full.

This was disappointing for Pep Guardiola, however, who has long criticised the attendance at Manchester City’s Champions League matches. In the past, he has argued that fans of the Manchester blue team need to understand how important this competition is.

Now he has been a little more measured. He more or less reacted to the lacklustre visit by merely stating that his charges will need slightly more support against Southampton at the weekend.

That, however, does not sit well with the general secretary who officially represents the Citizens supporters, Kevin Parker. According to him, Guardiola should be more considerate, he says he can’t understand the difficulties the fans have to deal with.

“They’ve got kids to look after, maybe they can’t afford tickets, there are still problems with coronavirus. I don’t understand why Guardiola is commenting on this. He’s the best coach in the world, but that’s what he should stick to. People then talk more about his comments than the fantastic play he has dictated to his charges,” Parker opined.

Fans of Manchester City’s rivals often make fun of the attendance at Citizens’ home games. They refer to their stadium as “Emptyhad”. According to Parker, this is not justified.

He was referring, for example, to this season’s Premier League home games. The Norwich game was watched by 51,437 spectators, Arsenal had almost a thousand more.

“I don’t think anyone at the club should question the loyalty of the fans. It’s frustrating,” Parker finished his statement to Sky Sports.

Source: Sky Sports