Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo apologized for his “unfortunate gesture” in Sunday’s 2-2 LaLiga draw away at city rivals Espanyol, blaming the incident on the “tension” of the game.
Araujo appeared to be aiming at Espanyol midfielder Nico Melamed as he exited the field near the end of the match, which saw both teams have a player sent off.
The 22-year-old Araujo, who came off the bench at halftime with an injury, appeared to shout at Melamed and show two fingers, implying that Espanyol would be relegated to the second division after being promoted this season.
“I want to apologise to all the people of Espanyol for the unfortunate gesture I made tonight. Everything has been the result of the tension experienced during a derby as disputed as today’s,” Araujo said on Twitter after the game.
“I consider myself a respectful person with rival fans and clubs. I’m not proud of what happened.”
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez apologized for Araujo’s actions despite not witnessing the incident.
“We have to respect the opponent, the referee and the rival fans,” Spanish newspaper Marca quoted Xavi as saying. “We always have to be respectful, but the tension can sometimes make that hard.
“But I apologise, if this has happened, as it should not.”
Barcelona currently sits fourth in LaLiga with 39 points after 23 games, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played one more game.
On Thursday, Xavi’s team will play Napoli in the first leg of the second-tier Europa League knockout round playoff.
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