Ronald Araujo has apologised for his gesture during Barcelona’s dramatic draw with rivals Espanyol on Sunday night.
Barca left it late to take a point from their local rivals, snatching a draw thanks to Luuk de Jong’s 96th minute header.
Xavi Hernandez‘s men came crashing back down to earth following their big win over Atletico Madrid, giving up a lead before coming back to take the draw.
The result is a blow in Barca’s top four hopes, and there were some less than pretty scenes in the derby clash.
Not only were Gerard Pique and Nico Melemed sent off for going head-to-head, but Araujo also grabbed the headlines for insulting Melemed as he went off the pitch.
Araujo signalled the number two with his hands before pointing down with his thumb as Melemed left the pitch, and he did the same to Espanyol fans.
The Uruguayan appeared to be suggesting Espanyol are going down this season, though he might want to check the La Liga table, with the Cornella side eight points clear of the drop as things stand.
In any case, Araujo has apologised for his actions in a statement.
“I want to ask for forgiveness from all the people of Espanyol for the unfortunate gesture that I did last night,” he said.
“Everything has been the result of the tension experienced during a derby as disputed as today’s (Sunday’s).
“I consider myself a respectful person to the fans and rival clubs, and for this, I don’t feel proud of what happened.”
