– It is very important that coaches do not publicly comment on the weight, appearance or health of their athletes. That is what the American cross-country star Jessie Diggins, who has won gold, silver and bronze in the Olympics, tells news. Diggins has also been open about her own eating disorder. PROFILE: Jessie Diggins is the all-time winningest American cross-country runner. During the Olympics in Beijing in 2022, it was silver and bronze. Photo: PHIL NOBLE / Reuters – When coaches comment in this way, it can not only damage the mental health of the athlete, but also send a very dangerous signal to young athletes who hear about this, she says. Most recently in the press conference ahead of the big match against Liverpool in the League Cup on 22 December, the City coach used the word “fat”: – I don’t know how they will come back. Whether they come back trained or fat, he said of the players who returned from the WC. The Spaniard has also asked Erling Braut Haaland not to eat too much during the WC break. Guardiola has a strict weight regime on his players. Kalvin Phillips has experienced that. Photo: AFP English national team player was examined The English national team player Kalvin Phillips in particular was told this after he returned from the World Cup. – He is not injured. He arrived overweight. I dont know why. He did not come to training in the right condition to be able to play, Guardiola said according to Sky Sports. It made English TV profiler Richards Keys see red. – I wonder why Guardiola has ridiculed Phillips for this “crime”, wrote Keys on Twitter who has worked for the BBC, Sky Sports and now Bein sports. WAS CALLED OVERWEIGHT: Manchester City and England player Kalvin Phillips. Photo: CRAIG BROUGH / Reuters Doctor, author and speaker Wasim Zahid agrees: – I have seen pictures of these footballers. And I think everyone would agree that none of them were overweight when they came back. It creates a wrong image of what obesity is and what a normal body is, says Zahid to news. Cross-country star Diggins is clear on what is most important for young athletes with high goals: – They must work hard, train smart, be a good teammate and compete cleanly, not think that they should look a specific way or have a specific numbers on the scales, says Diggins The comment to Guardiola is said to have caused the Leeds supporters to sing “Kalvin Phillips, he eats what he wants” in the match against Manchester City. After the match, the Spaniard was again asked about the midfielder. – He already has the perfect body. It is very sexy, said Guardiola at the press conference. “Fat-shaming” Zahid has his own YouTube channel where he educates the public about health, where he has taken up the term “fat-shaming”. – “Fat-shaming” is usually when you tell someone that they are overweight or have obesity in a negative way, says Zahid. After hearing the comments of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, the doctor believes that this falls under the term “fat-shaming”. – Hearing him communicate in that way here, I don’t think is anything good. It creates bad attitudes among children, says the doctor. HOPE HE DOESN’T EAT TOO MUCH: That’s what Pep Guardiola said before the World Cup. Photo: JASON CAIRNDUFF / Reuters Erling Braut Haaland was told to take care to stay in shape before the World Cup break. – He has a house in Marbella. He will go there and play golf and hopefully he doesn’t drink too much or eat too much and get back in shape, Guardiola said at the press conference before the meeting with Haaland’s old club Borussia Dortmund. – You are too fat This autumn, the former City striker, Sergio Agüero, revealed Guardiola’s strict weight regime on the Spanish TV program “El Chiringuito”. Among other things, the coach icon is said to have said: – I left you out because you are too fat this week. – It seems as if it has been done deliberately to create a feeling or reaction in the recipient. I have no sense of it. It is an imprecise and condescending word, Zahid believes. The Argentine agreed with Guardiola, but he said that the players were not allowed on the field and were fined if they were 100 grams over their ideal weight. Said Keys believes that nothing was ever said publicly about Sergio Agüero when he was a player, and calls the comments against Phillips “special”. news has submitted the criticism to Manchester City and tried to get a response from the club or Pep Guardiola, so far without success. TOO FAT: Sergio Agüero said last autumn that City players were fined and lost playing time if they were 100 grams over the ideal weight. Photo: Dave Thompson / AP – Not a normal weight regime The recently retired football coach Åge Hareide also reacts to the use of words by his Spanish colleague: – Fat sounds violent, and maybe there is a lack of vocabulary, but I would at least not use that word . – If players have weighed more than they should, we have taken it internally. I would never take that publicly. There is a difference between a few grams over the ideal weight, and being very much over. I have almost never come across that, says the experienced trainer profile. He believes there is an unnecessary focus on weight, since footballers are aware that they have to stay in shape. NOT USUAL PRACTICE: Åge Hareide would have taken weight problems internally, and believes Guardiola’s weight regime is not normal. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT / NTB – It is not a normal weight regime, points out Hareide. The coaching legend adds that he does not think Guardiola’s choice of words is meant as “fat-shaming”, but as discipline: – It is another principle that the players should return in the same form when they have had time away from the team. I don’t think it’s meant as “fat-shaming”, I just think he’s determined and that it’s meant as pure discipline from a strict man. – For me, weight is so, so important The strict regime has proven to be effective in the form of four Premier League titles during six years as coach of Manchester City. At the same time, throughout much of his coaching career, Guardiola has called his players fat or overweight. It has almost become so common for Guardiola to use these words that few journalists raise an eyebrow. The journalist who received the answer that Kalvin Phillips was overweight hesitated a little before moving on to the next question. In 2016, Guardiola called Samir Nasri overweight. Nasri and Yaya Toure were kept out of training at the start of Guardiola’s time with the light blues. – For me, weight is so, so important, Guardiola has previously stated. COACHING ICON: Pep Guardiola has picked up titles to order at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. He is often mentioned among the best managers of all time. Photo: JASON CAIRNDUFF / Reuters – You often hear coaches say that being healthy is important. With him (Guardiola), you don’t get to train with the team if your weight is too high, former City player Gaël Clichy told Manchester Evening News in 2016. The Norwegian doctor is concerned about the significance of Guardiola’s comments. – It creates an image that having eaten a little extra during the holidays and perhaps gained a little fat around the waist is the same as being overweight, and that is a completely wrong picture of reality. It will make young people believe that just putting on a little weight during a holiday is the same as being overweight. Then you get the wrong body image, says Zahid.
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