Pep Guardiola laments ‘a really sad day for democracy’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lamented "a really sad day for democracy," after the Spanish prime minister declared Catalonia would be stripped of its political autonomy.

On Saturday Mariano Rajoy announced article 155 of the Spanish constitution would be invoked - once passed by the Spanish senate of which his party has a clear majority - clearing the path for Spain to take control of the elected Catalonian parliament and its institutions.

The move comes three weeks after the controversial referendum on Catalan independence - a vote which had been declared illegal and banned by Madrid - was violently disrupted by Spanish police.

Last week Guardiola dedicated City's 2-1 Champions League win over Napoli to Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, two imprisoned pro-Catalan independence leaders.

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And he was asked about the situation again on Saturday, in the wake of City’s 3-0 Premier League win over Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.

He said: “It’s a really sad day for democracy. I thought in the 21st century, those kind of things didn’t happen.

“Especially, for example, the Catalan parliament is older than the Spanish parliament itself.

“I am really, really sad. The Catalan people just wanted to vote and we want to be listened to and let the people say what they wanted to be [part of Spain or independent].

“They did not allow us even that, the PP [Rajoy’s ruling Partido Popular] didn’t allow us to vote. They did what they did today just as the people protested with no violence.

“I think it’s a really, really sad day for democracy. The only thing we wanted was to be listened to. Society’s demands are stronger than any laws and I think, again, it is a really sad day for all of Europe and all the world what they did today.”

City’s win saw them move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with rivals Manchester United losing 2-1 away to newly promoted Huddersfield Town.