Barcelona’s Martinez denies spitting at Acerbi

Inigo Martinez, a Barcelona defender, has denied spitting at Francesco Acerbi during their Champions League semifinal defeat.

Acerbi allegedly ran past Martinez as he celebrated Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty in the second leg of Inter’s 2-0 lead at half-time on Tuesday at the San Siro.

“He snarled in my ear,” I said. Martinez told El Chiringuito TV, “I never spat at him, even though it was unnecessary.”

Before furiously confronting Martinez, Acerbi remonstrated with referee Szymon Marciniak.

There was a potential red card review conducted by the video assistant referee (VAR) before play resumed, but no decision was made.

Later footage showed Martinez spitting in Acerbi’s direction.

After Acerbi scored a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer to make it 3-3, Inter broke up in a thrilling tie 4-3 and 7-6 on aggregate after extra time.