'Personal matter' means Guardiola misses media duties

Manager Pep Guardiola missed media duties before Manchester City's Premier League trip to Tottenham because of a "personal matter" on Friday.

The City boss was scheduled to hold a lunchtime news conference to preview Sunday's game but the club later confirmed assistant boss Pep Lijnders would take his place.

On Thursday, Guardiola was dressed in a black and white keffiyeh to give a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in his home city of Barcelona.

Asked about Guardiola's absence, Lijnders said: "The manager is good as always, full of ambition and passion but he has a personal matter. He will arrive back in Manchester today."

City players were not at the training ground on Friday as they were given a day off, while Guardiola is scheduled to take training on Saturday, before travelling to London to face Spurs.

It is the third time this season Guardiola has missed pre or post-match duties.

Assistant Kolo Toure sat in to preview the Premier League game at Crystal Palace on 12 December as Guardiola attended a personal matter.

Lijnders faced the cameras after the 10-1 trouncing of Exeter City in the FA Cup third round on 10 January, with Guardiola serving a touchline ban for the game.

Guardiola spoke on stage in Barcelona about Palestinian children, saying "we have left them alone" and "abandoned".

Last June, Guardiola said he was "so scared" by the "painful" war in Gaza during an emotional speech when receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.

In 2018, Guardiola was fined £20,000 for wearing a yellow ribbon on the touchline during an FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Wigan.

Guardiola said he wore the ribbon to support imprisoned politicians in his native Catalonia and the Spaniard accepted the Football Association charge for "wearing a political message".