Barça News
Barcelona defender issues apology for provocative gesture vs Espanyol
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo took to social media to apologise for the gesture he made during his side’s 2-2 draw against Espanyol in a heated Catalan Derby.
The Uruguayan centre-half, who was substituted at half-time due to injury, confronted Espanyol midfielder Nico Melamed as the 20-year-old left the field following a sending off in the injury time.
Quite evidently, Araujo was seen gesturing as what appeared to be an apparent mocking of the Periquitos, shouting “To Second, to Second!” towards the opposition’s bench, referring to Espanyol’s potential relegation to La Liga 2 in 2022.
Reacting to his action, the 22-year-old issued an apology and explained that whatever happened was a result of the heat of the moment and that he is not proud of what he did.
“I want to say sorry to all the Espanyol people for my gesture tonight,” the defender wrote on his social media channels.
“It’s part of the tension that happens during derby matches like these. I consider myself a respectful person with the rival fanbases and clubs: that’s why I’m not proud of what happened,” he added.
— Ronald Araujo (@RonaldAraujo_4) February 14, 2022
Manager Xavi was asked about the incident in the post-match conference, and while the 42-year-old said he didn’t see what happened, he mentioned that such actions are simply unacceptable in football.
“I haven’t seen the incident”, said Xavi.
“We have to respect the opponent, the referee and the rival fans. 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,” he added.
A frenetic Catalan Derby didn’t seem to disappoint the neutrals as it had everything right from the sending offs to the injury-time equaliser. After Pedri had given Barcelona an early lead, Espanyol bounced in the second half, with Raul de Tomas shifting the momentum.
Following Melamed and Gerard Pique’s sending off in the second minute of the stoppage time, substitute Luuk de Jong snatched a point right at the death, hitting a 96th-minute equaliser.
As for Araujo, he was forced off at the break and was replaced by Eric Garia, with the team confirming that the defender sustained a calf problem and requires further tests.
His actions, meanwhile, did not go down well with the Espanyol players. Speaking about the incident, goalscorer Sergi Darder reminded Araujo that although he is a great defender, he should not forget that he, himself, was playing in the second division a few years back.
“One or two years ago he was playing in Segunda B”, Darder was quoted by Marca.
“He’s a hell of a central defender, but these things don’t help him,” he said.
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