Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez has rejected claims of having spat at Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi during their Champions League semi-final loss.
The purported event took place when Acerbi passed by Martinez in celebration after Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty, putting Inter up 2-0 just before the halftime break in the second leg at the San Siro on Tuesday.
“He shouted in my ear. My response was uncalled for, but I did not spit at him,” Martinez stated to El Chiringuito TV.
“If I had done that, there’s no question I would have been given a red card.”
Acerbi expressed his dissatisfaction with referee Szymon Marciniak before confronting Martinez in anger.
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A VAR (video assistant referee) assessment occurred before the game resumed to review the potential red card, but ultimately, no disciplinary action was imposed.
Later footage seemed to indicate Martinez did spit towards Acerbi.
Inter triumphed in a dramatic match 4-3, progressing 7-6 on aggregate after extra time, with Acerbi netting a last-minute equalizer to level the score at 3-3.
Inter is set to compete against either Paris St-Germain or Arsenal in the Champions League final, as PSG enters their semi-final second leg in Paris on Wednesday at 20:00 BST with a 1-0 advantage.