MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola said he was “embarrassed and ashamed” of his behaviour as he cut an apologetic figure following the Manchester City manager’s argument with a TV cameraman in the aftermath of his side’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday night. He added that the outburst, which saw him briefly swipe at the operator’s headset as he argued with the referee, Samuel Barrott, and Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, had been borne out of frustration at the controversial nature of some VAR calls and what defeat would mean for City’s title defence as he spoke to reporters on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.
Pep Guardiola apologizes ahead of Leverkusen tie.
In a terse news conference at City’s training base, Guardiola elaborated on the apology, calling his conduct “unacceptable,” comments reported by Reuters. “I apologized after one second,” he said of the camera operator and also acknowledged that despite more than 1,000 career matches, he’s “not a perfect person” who can “make huge mistakes,” according to ESPN.
The flashpoint saw a night during which Harvey Barnes’ second-half double cancelled out Ruben Dias’ equaliser as City slipped to a fourth defeat in 12 Premier League matches this season. Their first defeat in the league this season, four days after being held 2-2 by Tottenham Hotspur, left Guardiola’s side seven points behind leaders Arsenal and third in the table, which meant that what had been a procession towards title defence in recent seasons now looked like something more fraught.
Television images from St James’ Park showed Guardiola making angry gestures at Guimaraes and the officials before walking towards a pitch-side camera filming the action from close range, then pulling the headset as it continued filming. City has not revealed whether a formal complaint was lodged, but Guardiola said he had tried to find the operator in question straight after to apologize and had admitted his behaviour was inappropriate.
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The coach’s most recent expression of contrition is the latest addition to a file filled with flashpoints in need of public forgiveness. In 2023, he said he was “ashamed” of mentioning Steven Gerrard’s notorious slip at Anfield while defending City’s record, calling the comments “unnecessary and stupid,” according to The Guardian.
A year earlier, he also apologized after some City fans sang about the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters at Anfield, emphasizing that songs like those “do not reflect who we are as a club,” according to a live blog on the Premier League website. Taken together, those episodes reinforce how quickly Guardiola is prepared to row back when his words or actions jar with the image he wants for himself and for Manchester City.
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The Spaniard is now hoping the apology draws a line under the controversy ahead of Bayer Leverkusen’s visit to the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League, which will be Guardiola’s 100th game for City in Europe as manager. A win would push them into the league-phase table and prevent a potential playoff tie, as they were dumped by Real Madrid this time last year.
City midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are also unavailable, but Guardiola has warned his side’s reply needs to come on the pitch as well in front of the media. For now, the Pep Guardiola apology brings contrition, a rare moment of vulnerability from a serial winner; whether it is also an indication that there will be less rage on the touchline remains to be seen and may yet depend on how quickly City can bring some kind of order back to their season.
