Your take on Howe and Pep contradicts your stance with Mbappe dodging those questions. What are Howe and Pep supposed to say? Of course Pep is gonna advocate for something Catalonian, it hits closer to home.
It's the same with people coming at LeBron and NBA players that say they support BLM but gets criticized for not speaking out about China and their human right abuse.
You can formulate your own opinions on these subjects, but don't move the goal posts when it's someone you like vs someone you don't like.
End of the day, you gotta feed your family and get paid and do what you gotta do even if you dont agree with your employers stances on political issues. I dont fault anyone for not standing for what they believe in at their place of employment. If you really feel that deeply you wouldn't choose to work for them and sometimes it's even more complicated than that.