Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez denied spitting at Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi in the aftermath of the Italian side’s second goal in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal.
Inter eventual won an epic game 4-3 after extra time to book their place in the final, but the flashpoint came in the first half after Hakan Çalhanoğlu converted a penalty.
As Acerbi sprinted past Martínez to celebrate the goal, he appeared to shout something at him, with images showing the Barça player responding angrily.
“He celebrated in my ear after the goal,” Martínez told reporters after the match explaining the incident.
“My reaction to that was unnecessary but at no moment have I aimed for him.
“The spit was a metre away from him. If that was not the case, I would have been sent off, absolutely no doubt about that.”
Veteran defender Acerbi, who went on to score Inter’s 93rd minute equaliser which took the tie to extra time, immediately complained to the referee that Martínez had spat at him as things threatened to boil over.
However, the referee deemed no action was necessary and there was no intervention from VAR.
Martínez was later booked and eventually replaced by Ronald Araújo as Barça came from two goals down to lead 3-2 heading into stoppage time.
Acerbi’s strike ensured an additional 30 minutes, though, where Davide Frattesi struck the winner to finally seal a 7-6 aggregate win after last week’s 3-3 draw in Barcelona.
Even so, there was still time for Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who had earlier saved from Eric García from point blank range, to make what he called a “special” stop from Lamine Yamal and deny Barça penalties.
Barça have since complained about the performance of the officials, with midfielder Pedri imploring UEFA to investigate the referreeing and coach Hansi Flick moaning every 50-50 went in Inter’s favour.
Inter will meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in the final on May 31 in Munich.
Barça, meanwhile, turn their attention back to LaLiga and the chance to put seven points between them and Real Madrid at the top of the table when the Clásico rivals meet on Sunday.