Claim: Video shows Manchester City football manager ignoring Israeli team
A May 27 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a man shaking hands with people in the front row of the stadium, appearing to ignore one man as an Israeli flag icon flashes on screen.
Text in the video reads: “Manchester City manager ignores Israel.”
The post garnered nearly 3,000 likes in two days. Alternative versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
More from our fact-checking team: How we select and investigate complaints | Email Newsletter | Facebook Page
Our rating: False
The man in the video is not the Israeli national team coach, but the former manager of the Crystal Palace soccer team. The video was filmed in August 2023.
The video shows a former soccer manager, not the Israeli national team.
video Originally shared The post was made to social media in August 2023, two months before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. At the time, social media users referred to the ignored man as Alan Smith.
British media outlet the Daily Star reported that the footage showed Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shaking hands with club officials and Football Association representatives at Wembley Stadium, where the team had reportedly just lost to rivals Arsenal in the annual soccer match known as the Community Shield.
According to Sports Bible, after shaking hands with several officials, Guardiola appeared to ignore former Crystal Palace manager Smith for unclear reasons before collecting his runners-up medal.
Fact CheckNewspaper headlines calling “genocide” protests anti-Semitic are untrue
The man in the video matches recent photos of Smith that have appeared on Alamy.com and Getty Images. Smith has never acted on behalf of Israel.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
AFP Fact Check and Reuters also denied the claim.
Fact Check Sources:
- Ancient Bank (YouTube video), 22 August 2023, Guardiola ignored Alan Smith's handshake because he was always complaining about him
- Scott Porter, August 6, 2023 X Post
- Sports Bible, August 7, 2023 Fans witness Pep Guardiola ignore former manager during Community Shield medal ceremony
- Daily Star, August 7, 2023, Pep Guardiola refuses to shake Community Shield medal, receives death stare
- Alamy, December 30, 2023, former Crystal Palace manager Alan Smith watches from the stands
- Getty Images, 11 July 2018, Russia 2018 World Cup: Alan Smith interviews Gareth Southgate on his development
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to the print edition, the ad-free app or our e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a accredited signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires us to demonstrate a commitment to nonpartisanship, impartiality and transparency. Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.