Ezequiel Garay has apologised for telling Valencia fans to ‘go to hell’ after his side’s 2-1 victory over Huesca on Sunday.
Cristiano Piccini spared Valencia at the death against La Liga’s bottom club to extend their unbeaten run to five matches, but the result was overshadowed by whistles from Los Che supporters and Garay making the crude remark to his teammates after the final whistle.
“If something characterises me, it’s that I’m direct, clear, transparent and coherent,” wrote the defender on Instagram.
“Luckily, most people are also coherent. That’s why it’ll be easy to understand what I’m going to say next.
“I guess it happens in all professions, but I’m going to talk about the one I’ve dedicated 20 years to: football.
“You live it with a lot of intensity and WE BELIEVE that it’s divided into two parts (fans and followers). It’s something that should NOT be like this.
“Both the followers of a club and those of us on the field fight for the same objective, achieving victories.
“Some of us do it by playing and others do it by cheering. In short, we’re all one. And for this concept came my unfortunate turn of phrase.
“I understand the emotion and passion experienced during 90 minutes of a game. But it’s also understandable that it’s not a dish of good taste when you hear insults directed to your teammates, Coach or any person at your club.
“I can testify that we all have the same objective, to give satisfaction. Today I saw some of my teammates cry and listen to the insults and whistles from the crowd.
“It gave me feelings of rage and helplessness. The adrenaline still hadn’t dissipated and from there I said a phrase.
“It’s true, I should never have said it. Now, I want to point out one thing: our spirit is you [the fans] and together we can do more.
“I forgot to add, it also characterised my ability to RECTIFY things. I love this club and I’ll always defend them, just as I will fondly remember the others I played for, and I respect everyone for a reason: it’s sport, so you have to live it in a healthy way.”