Pep Guardiola: Man City boss fined for 'act of defiance' over yellow ribbon

The FA spoke to Pep Guardiola twice before charging him after Manchester City's FA Cup defeat at Wigan

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was fined for wearing a yellow ribbon because he did so in an "act of defiance", despite warnings he was breaking Football Association rules.

In its written reasons explaining the £20,000 fine, the FA said it had sent Guardiola "numerous warning letters".

The Spaniard last week accepted an FA charge of "wearing a political message".

He was also warned by the FA about his future conduct.

In November, Spaniard Guardiola said he wore the ribbon to support imprisoned politicians in his native Catalonia.

The FA spoke to the City boss about the situation in December and had previously issued two formal warnings.

Action was taken after he wore it at pitchside - he is free to wear it elsewhere - during City's FA Cup fifth-round loss to League One side Wigan on 19 February.

A movement encouraging sympathisers with Catalan independence to display the yellow ribbon began in October.

It began after two prominent separatist leaders were jailed.

Two key members of the Catalan independence movement - Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez - were held without bail after an independence vote in October, which the Spanish government deemed illegal.

Last month, Guardiola said he would continue to wear the ribbon despite being charged for doing so.

He argued the symbol was "not about politicians, it's about democracy".

FA chief executive Martin Glenn insisted it was a political symbol, saying "it's a symbol of Catalan independence" and "we don't want political symbols in football".

Guardiola responded by saying Glenn "didn't understand the reality".

Guardiola did not wear the ribbon during City's Premier League match against Chelsea on Sunday but he did during the news conference afterwards.

He also wore it during City's most recent Champions League game against Basel as Uefa, European football's governing body, has different rules on political symbols.

'Extremely concerned about frequent breaches'

The FA has also published its written reasons for fining City £50,000 for failing to control their players in their 1-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Wigan.

A number of players, including David Silva and Sergio Aguero, were found to have acted inappropriately following Fabian Delph's sending-off in the latter stages of the first half.

The governing body noted it was "extremely concerned about the recent frequency of breaches by the club" as it was the third such charge since December 2016 following incidents against Chelsea and Liverpool.

In mitigation, City admitted the charge as soon as possible and promised to take steps to ensure better behaviour.