Iñigo Martínez, Barcelona defender, denied spitting at Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi after the Italian team’s second goal in the Champions League semi-final.
The match, which Inter ultimately won 4-3 after extra time, was marked by an incident in the first half, after Hakan Çalhanoğlu converted a penalty.
Acerbi, upon celebrating the goal, seemed to shout something at Martínez, who reacted with anger.
He celebrated in my ear after the goal
Iñigo Martínez
Martínez explained that his reaction was unnecessary, but denied having spat directly at him.
The spit was one meter away. If it weren’t, he would have been sent off, without a doubt.
Iñigo Martínez
Acerbi complained to the referee, but no action was taken, nor was there any VAR intervention.
Martínez was cautioned and substituted by Ronald Araújo. Barcelona, who managed to come back from 2-0, saw Acerbi tie the match in the 93rd minute, forcing extra time.
Davide Frattesi scored the winning goal, sealing a 7-6 aggregate score after the previous week’s 3-3 draw in Barcelona.
Inter’s goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, made an outstanding save on Lamine Yamal, preventing penalties for Barcelona.
Barcelona have expressed their discontent with the refereeing, with Pedri asking UEFA to investigate.
Inter will face the winner of the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in the final on May 31 in Munich.
Meanwhile, Barcelona focuses on LaLiga, where it will seek to extend its lead over Real Madrid in the next Clásico.
