On Tuesday it was reported by Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo that the former Barça coach’s family – his wife Cristina Serra, and children Valentina and Maria – were at the concert at the time of the terror attack, but escaped unharmed.
Shocked. Can't believe what happened last night. My deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.#Ilovemanchester
— PepTeam (@PepTeam) May 23, 2017
The former Barça player turned coach, who was born in Santpedor, north of Barcelona, has made enemies across Spain after moving from the realm of sport into politics and campaigning for an independent Catalonia.
As a result, one twitter user turned to the social media platform to turn the horrific event in Manchester into an opportunity to vent his hatred against Guardiola, and all Catalans.
“Damn. I just found out there were 20 dead in an attack in Manchester, and none of them were that son of a bitch Guardiola,” tweeted Jorge Larios, a user who has since deleted the account.
He later added: “And worse than all: Not a single one of the dead was Catalan”.
Drets presentarem denúncia a la Fiscalia contra aquest usuari de Twitter per incitació a l'odi i a la violència. #ProuCatalanofobia pic.twitter.com/xfbKyUxBQO
— Drets (@DretsCat) May 23, 2017
The hateful tweets have been reported by Drets, an association set up “to defend Catalan society against hate and insults” who reported them for “inciting hatred and violence”.