Yaya Toure says Pep Guardiola 'often has problems with Africans'

Ivorian born midfielder, Yaya Toure says the Man City boss, Pep Guardiola, looks beyond a player’s ability and technique in kicking the ball but is also particular about the color of the skin. A player’s color of the skin then determines the respect that he affords a specific player. What a bold claim!

Toure said, “Guardiola often has problems with Africans." This is a statement that reflects the kind of negative attitude that African players receive under his coaching. Initially, Toure thought that the treatment he was receiving was because of ‘jealousy’ since he has been more influential than the Spanish born manager during his playing career. But later, the possibility of this being due to the color of his skin then struck him upon further reflection on how he had managed other players from the African continent in the past. These claims have unsurprisingly been met by silence from Man City because Toure’s claims are far too bold for any club to comment on unless they have more information. The club is at crossroads because they want to maintain their relationship with Guardiola who successfully guided Manchester City to the EPL crown this May as well as supporting their club legend, Toure.

Toure believes that the inequality that can easily be accredited to Pep's origin at City has gone on for far too long that he wants to be the one to break it off. It is surprising that such discussions about inequality due to one’s origin in soccer still exist after so much progress has been made. It is easy to assume that the progression of society in one sphere of life can be seen in another sphere, such as football, but such stories have proven otherwise.