Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has apologized for his "abusive behaviour" in the 2-2 away draw with city rivals Espanyol on Sunday in the 24th round of La Liga, saying the tension in the match caused the incident.
Araujo appeared to make an insulting gesture to Espanyol midfielder Nico Melamed as he left the field at the end of the match, which saw one player from each team sent off.
😳 Ronald Araújo to Nico Melamed as soon as Melamed was leaving the field after being sent off: "To the Second Division, to the Second Division" #EspanyolBarça [movistar] pic.twitter.com/KsI4Jf7axw
— FCBarcelonaFl 🏆 (@FCBarcelonaFl) February 14, 2022
The footage showed Araujo, 22, who was on the bench after being substituted at half-time due to an injury, screaming at Melmed and pointing at him with his hand, hinting that Espanyol might be relegated to the second division after their promotion this season.
Give araujo the captains armband asap!!!😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/kP5ZdjIDQm
— “ (@Dybalasupreme) February 13, 2022
"I want to apologize to all the Espanyol team for the unfortunate gesture I made tonight," Araujo said on Twitter after the match. "Everything was the result of the tension that occurred during today's exciting derby. I consider myself a player who is respected by rival teams and fans and I am not proud of what happened." .
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he did not witness the incident but apologized for Araujo's behaviour.
"We have to respect the opponent, his fans and the referee. We always have to be respectful, but the tension can make that difficult sometimes," the Spanish newspaper "Marca" quoted Xavi as saying.
Barcelona snatched a valuable draw in the Catalonia derby against its
stubborn neighbor, Espanyol.
Summary and goals of the match📺⚽😉#EspanyolBarça 2-2 #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/5ELzscS0yc
— LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) February 13, 2022
Barcelona is fourth with 39 points from 23 games, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid, who played a game more.
Xavi's team hosts Napoli in the European League next Thursday.