Football
Credit: DAZN
A female Spanish footballer has denied touching an opponent in the crotch area and asking: “Do you have a d—?”
Barcelona centre-back Mapi León was accused of having “violated the privacy” of Espanyol’s Daniela Caracas during Sunday’s Catalan derby after clips posted on social media showed a clash between the pair.
The alleged incident was condemned by Caracas’s club, who said they had offered her the services of their legal team if she wished to take action against León.
León, a former international, eventually responded with a statement, saying: “At no time did I, nor was it my intention [to], infringe upon the intimacy of my fellow professional Daniela Caracas.
“As the images show, it was part of a playing action in which she deliberately touches me and I touch her leg saying in reaction to the clash, ‘What’s up with you?’.
“There is no contact with her private parts, and certainly no intention. I insist, it was just part of the game that does not warrant the importance that has been attached to it.”
Espanyol had earlier said: “Espanyol wish to express total condemnation at events which took place during the game which we consider unacceptable and should not pass unnoticed.”
The clash between the two players was in the 15th minute of a Liga F match that was goalless at the time and which Barcelona went on to win 2-0 through late goals from Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo.
The incident occurred amid the ongoing trial of former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales, who is claimed to have forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s 2023 Women’s World Cup triumph.
León is a former team-mate of Hermoso’s for club and country but has not played for the national team since 2022, when she was among 15 players to refuse call-ups after falling out with then head coach Jorge Vilda.
In an interview with RAC1 before the World Cup, Leon said she “has a way of life and values. I can’t go back if the situation hasn’t changed. There have to be changes. I’m not saying that no changes have happened, but I don’t see them”.
Colombia defender Caracas was at the centre of World Cup controversy herself after branding the Republic of Ireland team “little girls” and proclaiming: “Let them eat s—.”
That was after Ireland abandoned a pre-tournament friendly between the countries that left one of their players in hospital.
Colombia were beaten in the World Cup quarter-finals by England, who went on to lose to Spain.
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