Raphinha apologizes for gesture toward Atletico fans after Barcelona’s Champions League elimination

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona forward Raphinha has apologized for his gesture toward Atletico Madrid fans after his team’s elimination in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Raphinha, who didn’t play on Tuesday because of a hamstring injury, also criticized the refereeing, making the “robbed” sign with his hands, and later told reporters that Barcelona was “robbed” over the two legs.

The Brazil star is likely to face punishment from UEFA for his actions at the Metropolitano stadium.

While still on the field, he gestured toward Atletico supporters and made a gesture apparently indicating that the rival will be eliminated in the next round. He appeared to tell fans “you are out.”

“I apologize for my gesture, which does not reflect my values or character,” Raphinha said on Wednesday in a comment to a DAZN post that showed him gesturing to the crowd. “It was an act in a moment of tension, in response to a fan who was disrespecting me.”

Barcelona, seeking to return to the semifinals of the Champions League for the second season in a row, won 2-1 on Tuesday but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 2-0 loss at home in the first leg last week.

Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso said it was nonsense for Raphinha to say Barcelona was robbed.

“I respect everyone’s opinion, but let’s not say that it was a robbery, because it wasn’t like that,” Musso said. “We won it on the field. We won 2-0 on the road. It’s a team that we respect a lot and are very motivated to play against. It’s a great team, but I think that to talk about robbery is just crazy.”

Raphinha did not immediately apologize for his comments about the refereeing.

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“To me, it was ‘robbed’,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Not only this match, but the other one as well. The refereeing was very bad. Incredible the decisions that they made. Atletico made a lot of fouls and the referee didn’t show a single yellow card.”

Other players also criticized the refereeing over the two legs.

President-elect Joan Laporta said Wednesday that the refereeing was “shameful” and “inadmissible,” and said the club planned to present a formal complaint with UEFA.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer