He’s getting off with it isn’t he ?
Edit : And if he is convicted then how does that reflect on St.Pep ? Going to court to try and get a rapist off the hook is certainly not a good look !
They are, that’s what he said in court.
Bloody hell. This is a rollercoaster. @Limiescouse said he was talking to the press.
In that case I’ll stand by my original comments. Guardiola has been called to give a character statement. Which he has done. I don’t see a problem, Mendy is on trial and this is part of his defence. He is entitled to put together a defence. That literally how criminal justice works.
Years ago I dropped my grandad off at the pub and partially acknowledged someone’s comment about Prince Charles having an interest in architecture. Someone else seemingly heard me ask if he was saying that Charles was an architect. By the time I picked him up several hours later the whole pub thought Charles had suffered a heart attack.
If you read it again, the context was saying that those sort of comments are the ones someone would give to a journo and anyone who went to court to give them, for these sorts of alleged crimes, is deranged.
So yes, he’s entitled to a defense. Anyone who participates in that by offering a positive character assessment is fucking deranged. It is completely irrelevant to the crimes being alleged, and if it is not made a statement of his innocence all it says is you a terrible judge of character.
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Makes you wonder what Mendy has got on, or knows about Fraudiola to have him go to court to give a reference at all
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I understand a character witness is quite normal in a case like this.
I mean, I don’t really understand why a platitude like ‘he’s a lovely lad in training, works hard and set’s a positive example for the youngsters’ would have any relevance in a rape trial, but I’m still struggling to understand what Guardiola has done wrong here. He was called to give a statement and gave one. I don’t think anyone can suggest his comments probably aren’t a fair reflection of what Pep sees of him at work.
As I say, I don’t really understand why if someone is a good lad a work that means they didn’t rape nine people, but that’s a slightly different point.
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We should care because the act of flying women out to a party for the sole purpose of sex (which it surely is) serves to reinforce the notion in the minds of over privileged young men who are already somewhat detached from reality that they are entitled to sex from women, regardless of whether they get consent for that.
It might not be illegal, but it’s incredibly irresponsible.
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He was a doper as a player and a doper and cheat as a manager. He’s also a hypocritical cunt whose demise I will celebrate. Another hydrocarbon cunt which the game need to shed.
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I’m not that invested into their future, but I believe I would justify that as failing my test by the fact that it could potentially harm others in future?
He’s been called by the defence to try and help get their client off.
Mendy is facing numerous charges of rape by several women. Pep presumably thinks that being ‘such a good boy’ he could not be guilty of the charges and that all the women are lying and must be involved in some grand conspiracy. Or he has been persuaded by the club to try and protect their £50m investment.
Either way it stinks.
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You can refuse to be a character witness.
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The wise thing for him to have done was to have kept his own counsel until the trial has concluded. Then if Mendy is found not guilty , he can quite reasonably come out and say what a great guy he found him to be and that he never believed he could have done the things he was charged with.
I think Pep has put himself in a very uncomfortable position now. If Mendy is convicted , people will have every right to question both his judgement and his real motivation in trying to put his thumb on the scales.
There won’t be a word about Pep.
Mendy will be the focus one way or other.
Not necessarily. He has just been asked to give a statement about the Mendy he knows. ‘What’s Mendy like at work?’ ‘He’s sound. Works hard, always on time and helps out the younger lads’. Whatever.
I don’t really understand why his behaviour at work should really come into the equation when this is about his conduct outside work. But apparently it does form part of a defence.
If you read the statement Guardiola is also keen to make it clear that his assessment does not extend to what his player do off the pitch.
“I can say I can’t see players. I control my players when we are together in training sessions. In their private life, I don’t know what they do. I don’t follow the players on social media so I don’t know what they are doing outside my control in training sessions and in games.”
I totally understand everyone’s feelings about Guardiola, but I think in this case it’s a bit of an overreaction. It’s also worth remembering that whatever conclusions we have drawn about Mendy (I know what I think) he is entitled to a fair trial and to mount a defence in that trial. If he wants to call his boss in to explain what a nice lad he is at work, then fine - he’s allowed to do that. Personally I think it’s pretty risible as far as defences go, and it’s not going to help his cause when his boss says ‘yeah I obviously can’t comment on what he’s like away from the club’.
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I’ve never jumped on the anti-Guardiola bandwagon myself. He’s a always struck me as a pretty decent kind of guy and his biggest failing in my book was simply being seduced by the Saudis , but with what they were offering him that was at least understandable.
It probably is an overreaction by some , especially those with an obvious agenda , but still it surprised me that he’s decided to intervene here. There are numerous people who are credibly accusing Mendy of rape , just on the face of it you really wouldn’t want to be giving anyone the benefit of the doubt if you didn’t really know what had transpired. For me , he should have been be a bit more circumspect before jumping in here. There are also the player’s own admissions of passing women around with his team mates and others , even if not illegal then it’s certainly morally dubious. I just don’t see what Pep has to gain here , even in the event of a not guilty , and that has piqued my suspicion that his intervention may not entirely have been his own decision. (i.e. he was gently persuaded.)
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On the same note , what I did find incredulous , and probably disingenuous , at the time was when City were being investigated by UEFA , and Pep’s public comments were something along the lines of ; “They’ve told me they’ve done nothing wrong , and I believe them.”
Oh , ok then.
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Actually, it’s being seduced by Abu Dhabi. Not really much different, I know.
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If Pep says Mendy is an alright kind of guy, then I wonder if he would let his own daughter stay over one night in the company of Mendy and his buddies…! Just asking
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