Bottle-throwing Valencia fan: I apologise, but Barcelona stars exaggerated
AFTER Neymar was clipped by a water bottle in Saturday’s wild comeback win against Valencia, Barcelona players were rightfully irate.
A young Valencia fan has claimed responsibility for the launched bottle, reading a statement to 99.99 Valencia Radio. In the statement, the 17-year-old expressed remorse for the act and explained why he did it.
As translated by Marca:
“I am the supporter that threw the bottle, yes, the one that hit the Barcelona players,” he said.
“From the moment it left my hand, I realized the seriousness of my mistake.
“I completely regret it, as it isn’t an act that defines me as a person, nor does it define Valencia’s great fanbase.
“When the penalty was given, I felt very impotent and upset at what had just occurred.
“When Messi scored and came to the north end to celebrate, I also saw how Neymar insulted and provoked all of those Valencia supporters that had supported the team until the end.
While the fan was no doubt remorseful about his actions, he also said that he felt Neymar should not have reacted as theatrically as he did, adding that he didn’t think the bottle hit the Barcelona players with enough force to elicit the reactions they had.
“It was a water bottle, that despite being practically empty, was enough for not just one but up to five Barcelona players to feign contact,” the fan added.
There has so far been no word regarding what punishment tha fan faces for the incident.