Credit: DAZN<\/span><\/p>\n A female Spanish footballer has denied touching an opponent in the crotch area and asking: \u201cDo you have a d—?\u201d<\/p>\n Barcelona<\/a> centre-back Mapi Le\u00f3n was accused of having \u201cviolated the privacy\u201d of Espanyol\u2019s Daniela Caracas during Sunday\u2019s Catalan derby after clips posted on social media showed a clash between the pair.<\/p>\n The alleged incident was condemned by Caracas\u2019s club, who said they had offered her the services of their legal team if she wished to take action against Le\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Le\u00f3n, a former international, eventually responded with a statement, saying: \u201cAt no time did I, nor was it my intention [to], infringe upon the intimacy of my fellow professional Daniela Caracas.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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, \u2018What\u2019s up with you?\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Espanyol had earlier said: \u201cEspanyol wish to express total condemnation at events which took place during the game which we consider unacceptable and should not pass unnoticed.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The incident occurred amid the ongoing trial<\/a> of former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales, who is claimed to have forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso<\/a> after Spain\u2019s 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup triumph.<\/p>\n Le\u00f3n is a former team-mate of Hermoso\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n In an interview with RAC1<\/em> before the World Cup, Leon said she \u201chas a way of life and values. I can\u2019t go back if the situation hasn\u2019t changed. There have to be changes. I\u2019m not saying that no changes have happened, but I don\u2019t see them\u201d.<\/p>\n Colombia defender Caracas was at the centre of World Cup controversy herself<\/a> after branding the Republic of Ireland team \u201clittle girls\u201d and proclaiming: \u201cLet them eat s—.\u201d<\/p>\n That was after Ireland abandoned a pre-tournament friendly between the countries that left one of their players in hospital.<\/p>\n Colombia were beaten in the World Cup quarter-finals by England, who went on to lose to Spain.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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