Richard Keyes has launched a scathing attack on Pep Guardiola and believes the Manchester City manager behaved badly towards beIN Sports reporter Andy Kehr after the match against Liverpool at the weekend.
Among other things, Keys wrote the following in a post on his own blog:
“What's the matter with this guy? Guardiola was ashamed. He didn't care. He gave us nothing – just one-word answers and a silly smile. He looked at Kerr as if he were on his shoes.”
Here's the interview where Keys reacts:
Fjortoft answers
Keys also brings in Viaplay reporter Jan Åge Fjørtoft.
“I've been told he acted 'dismissive' towards my friend Jan Fjortoft, but I haven't spoken to Jan, so I'm not sure,” he wrote.
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In a conversation with Fjortoft and with beIN Sports reporter Andy Kehr, Guardiola answered briefly and really let the reporters work to continue the interview.
However, Fjortoft denies that he called Guardiola “dismissive”, as Keyes described it.
– No, I don't feel it, writes Fjørtoft in an SMS to Nettavisen.
Here is Guardiola's interview with Jan Auger Fjortoft:
Wikstad: – Not nice
A month ago, it was Villaplay's Eyvind Bisgaard-Sandet who received similar treatment from the Spaniard after City's 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea.
This prompted colleague Kasper Wikstad to respond.
-I think it's rude to be like that. Show some respect, and answer a little correctly. Remember that if you're going to use dominance techniques, the TV viewers are actually the ones overpowering you, Wikstad said at the Viaplay studio.
However, Bisgaard-Sandet himself does not believe Guardiola is behaving this way because he wants to be rude to journalists.
– I do not completely share this opinion. In my opinion, Pep Guardiola is the greatest football coach of all time. I don't think he wants to do this job (talking to the media). I think in his mind he will do everything for his team to win the match. When the match is over, a new task begins to think about a new match, Bisgaard Sandet tells Netafsen.
-I don't think he sees talking to me as part of the job. He hates it so much, so I think it's an expression he doesn't really want. It turns out that it's not exactly easy to deal with. I don't think he's trying to be difficult.
An angry Guardiola curses in Spanish
The Viaplay commentator remembers well when he had to interview Guardiola at Craven Cottage last spring.
At Fulham Stadium, there is a tight space in the press box, and journalists stand in line to talk to the players.
– I was the second man in line, and there was a woman in front of me. We stand there waiting, and then Pip comes and goes straight into that room. Then, it takes four seconds before he comes out again, swears in Spanish and leaves again, says Bisgaard-Sandet.
The first person in line had his camera placed on the ground as he waited for Guardiola to appear.
– Then Pip was cursed so badly that things weren't ready when he arrived. If reporters aren't willing to do their jobs, there's no point in having them there. He came back 20 minutes later, but then everyone realized that there had been no long talk. It is, after all, a dominant technology. You can be kind and gentle, but these are the demands he makes on the world around him, says Bisgaard-Sandet.
The next task for Pep Guardiola, Erling Braut Haaland and Manchester City will now be an FA Cup meeting with Newcastle next weekend.
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