Barcelona's 3-2 victory over Valencia was marred by an incident in the last minute of stoppage time when a Valencia fan threw a water bottle at the Barcelona players who were celebrating Lionel Messi’s penalty. The incident was disgraceful for both sides as not only did it prove to be a negative image of the supporters of Valencia, it also saw a few Barcelona players go down very easily for just a bottle.
The young fan behind the incident spoke to Valencia Radio and issued a statement. It was identified that the fan was a 17-year-old and has admitted he had made a mistake. However, he claimed that Barcelona’s Neymar Jr. had acted provocatively towards the stands which led to the incident.
“As soon as I threw the bottle I knew I had made a terrible mistake, but Neymar has been insulting us and provoking the Valencia fans who had been cheering their side to the last breath. A bottle, which despite being practically empty, was enough for not one but up to five players to go down pretending they’d been hit by it.” said the 17-year-old in his statement.
“But the thing that hurts the most is that I love Valencia ahead of everything else and I know that my action does not represent the amazing Valencia supporters, and much less our values. I would like to ask forgiveness of Barcelona and above all, my lifelong club,” he added.
Meeting with the security at the Mestalla
The youngster’s father met with the head of security of the club at the Mestalla stadium on Tuesday morning to express his son’s regret and apologise on his behalf. They will now await the decision of the club over what punishment will be meted out to the boy.
Neymar has, in the past, been condemned by fans of the opposition on many occasions of disrespect. However, it has usually been an issue to do with his showboating. However, on Saturday, it looks like the Brazilian might have taken things too far, based on the account of the young Valencia fan.
While both the coaches maintained their silence about the incident stating that they did not see anything, Luis Enrique addressed the allegations that the Valencia fans were provoked by saying, “We celebrated a goal like you should celebrate a goal in the last minute against a tough rival; It was normal.”
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