The player denies any wrongdoing
Barcelona and Spain international Mapi Leon has been accused of ‘violating the privacy’ of Espanyol player Daniela Caracas.
The incident occurred in the Liga F derby match between the Barcelona-based clubs on Sunday.
Leon and Caracas collided while the Espanyol player defended a set-piece.
In a viral video Leon then appears to touch Caracas around the groin area.
In a statement issued by Espanyol after the game the club expressed their ‘total discontent and condemnation’ of the incident.
It read: “This is an action that we consider unacceptable and that should not go unnoticed.
“Although Caracas was unable to react at the time… later, when she came to terms with what had happened, she became aware of the seriousness of the gesture, but chose not to react angrily to avoid a disciplinary sanction and harm to the team.”
Colombian centre-back Caracas has since received abuse on social media according to her club.
The statement continued: “We are concerned that, instead of focusing on the act itself, part of the media attention has been diverted to other issues unrelated to the seriousness of the action.”
Leon then released a statement about the incident, denying any wrongdoing.
She said: “At no time did I, nor was it my intention, infringe upon the intimacy of my fellow professional Daniela Caracas.
“As 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: ‘what’s up with you’.
“There 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.”
She went on to condemn the ‘harassment that Daniela appears to have been suffering on social networks, which has nothing to do with me, and I offer her my most sincere support’.
Leon has made over 250 appearances for Barcelona, winning five league titles and three Champions Leagues with the club.
27-year-old Caracas played a huge part in Colombia’s impressive run to the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
