Pep Guardiola is standing firmly behind Bernardo Silva as the Manchester City man prepares to serve his one-match suspension for a tweet that was deemed to be racist.
The Portugal midfielder will sit out tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Chelsea after being found guilty of aggravated misconduct by the FA.
Bernardo tweeted a picture of teammate and close friend Benjamin Mendy alongside a picture of a cartoon child used to advertise a popular snack in Spain.
He deleted the tweet soon after but was still landed with an FA charge and was given the one-match suspension.
City were furious at the outcome but decided not to appeal and run the risk of the ban being increased.
Guardiola staunchly defended Bernardo before his hearing, and when asked about it today, he was still adamant that the player’s only wrongdoing was to be too casual in his use of social media.
And he expressed concern that the 25-year-old has wrongly been branded a racist.
“In that situation, the less important thing is that we are going to miss him - he’s been accused of something he’s not,” said the City boss.
“If they want to pick up someone to show something, it was not the right person.
“He will be careful with social media but if this can help make a better society then Bernardo will accept it. But he’s not what he’s accused of.”
The midfielder was also fined £50,000, with the FA stating: “Many persons would have taken offence to the content.”
