Ronald Araujo, Barcelona's defender, has apologized for an "offensive gesture" during the 2-2 draw away at city rivals Espanyol in La Liga, stating that the tension in the match led to the incident. Araujo appeared to make an offensive gesture towards Espanyol midfielder Nico Melamed while leaving the field at the end of the match, which saw a player sent off from each team.
Footage showed the 22-year-old Araujo, who was on the bench after being substituted at halftime due to injury, yelling at Melamed and indicating with his hand that Espanyol might be relegated to the second division after their promotion this season. Araujo tweeted after the match, "I want to apologize to all members of Espanyol for the unfortunate gesture I made tonight. Everything was a result of the tension that occurred during today's thrilling derby match."
He added, "I consider myself a player who respects rival teams and their fans, and I am not proud of what happened." Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez stated he did not see the incident but apologized for Araujo's behavior. Marca reported Xavi saying, "We must respect our opponent, their fans, and the referee. We must always show respect, but tension can make that difficult at times."
Barcelona is currently in fourth place with 39 points from 23 matches, 15 points behind league leaders Real Madrid, who have played one more match. Xavi's team will host Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday.
