In case you missed it: Pep’s stand with Palestine, Nafay’s wrong-handed run-out and deadline-day drama

The past and ongoing week offered a striking mix of sport intersecting with politics, cricket delivering a moment of confusion, and football once again underlining why transfer deadlines rarely lack drama. Here is a look at three stories that drew attention for very different reasons.

Pep’s passionate stand for Palestine 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made a striking gesture of solidarity with children in Palestine by wearing a keffiyeh scarf and delivering a passionate speech at charity event in Barcelona last Thursday, drawing attention well beyond the footballing world.

Guardiola, who has previously used his platform to speak on humanitarian issues, once again underlined how elite sport does not exist in a vacuum. His appearance and remarks resonated widely on social media, particularly among supporters who praised the City boss for highlighting the plight of Palestinian children at a time when global attention often drifts elsewhere.

The Manchester City manager missed his usual pre-weekend news conference on Friday after speaking at a charity concert in Barcelona on Thursday evening. City later said Guardiola was absent for personal reasons, with assistant Pep Lijnders stepping in to preview Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

“Good evening, salam alaikum, how wonderful,” the 55-year-old said at the event.

“When I see a child in these past two years with these images on social media, on television, recording himself, pleading, ‘where is my mother?’ among the rubble and he still doesn’t know it.

“And I always think: ‘What must they be thinking?’ And I think we have left them alone, abandoned.

“I always imagine them saying: ‘Where are you? Come help us.’

“And even now, we haven’t done it. Perhaps because those in power are cowards, because they basically send innocent young people to kill innocent people.”

He called for a “step forward” as he made what he described as “a statement for Palestine and… a statement for humanity”.

In an era when managers are frequently advised to “stick to football”, Guardiola’s message stood out, and so did his timing, delivered in the middle of the football season.

Despite a fragile ceasefire agreed between Hamas and Israel in October, more than 400 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the months since, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israeli media, citing senior military officials, reported that Israel’s military now accepts that around 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war in Gaza.

An Israeli army official told journalists that the army accepted the figure of about 70,000 deaths. Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry estimates that at least 71,662 people have been killed since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, including 488 since the declaration of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2025.

Thousands more are missing and believed to be buried under rubble, with the National Committee for Missing Persons suggesting the figure could exceed 10,000. The Health Ministry has also said that at least 440 people died of starvation during the war.

Another cricketing confusion

Cricket delivered another perplexing moment on Sunday during the third T20I between Pakistan and Australia in Lahore, when Pakistan wicket-keeper Khawaja Nafay found himself at the centre of controversy following a wrong-handed run-out that initially went unnoticed.

The incident occurred when Cooper Connolly danced down the track and missed the ball completely down the leg side due to sharp turn. Nafay collected the ball and broke the stumps in a flash, prompting the leg umpire to give Connolly out without referring the decision to the third umpire.

Replays later revealed that Nafay had dislodged the bails with his left hand while holding the ball in his right, meaning the stumps were broken with an empty hand.

Under the ICC’s playing conditions, a wicket is considered broken fairly only if the fielder is holding the ball in the same hand used to dislodge the bails or uproot the stumps.

Clause 29.2.1 of the ICC men’s T20 playing conditions states: “The wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps or a stump is struck out of the ground -- by a fielder with his hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.”

In this instance, Nafay was not holding the ball in the hand used to break the stumps, meaning the dismissal should not have stood and Connolly should not have been given out.

The incident, however, did little to alter the outcome of the match or the series. Australia endured a torrid outing, suffering their heaviest T20I defeat -- a 111-run loss in the third match -- as Pakistan completed a dominant 3-0 clean sweep.

Palace fail to offload injured Mateta

Premier League side Crystal Palace, last season’s FA Cup winners, raised eyebrows during the January transfer deadline after attempting to offload striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to AC Milan despite the forward being injured and facing surgery that could rule him out for several months.

Mateta’s proposed move to the Serie A club collapsed on deadline day after his medical revealed ongoing knee issues. 

The striker has been carrying a knee problem since November and has continued playing through pain, with Palace managing his condition on a game-by-game basis.

Milan were aware of the issue before negotiations began, with Mateta’s medical records sent to Italy on Saturday ahead of final talks. The Italian club also dispatched their own doctor to London to further assess the situation before ultimately pulling out of the £26 million deal.