Inigo Martinez addresses allegations of spitting at Inter Milan's Acerbi

Barcelona centre back Inigo Martinez has opened up on claims that he spat at Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi during the second leg of the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Martinez has denied that he did not intentionally spit in Acerbi's direction, saying he was angered by Italian behaviour after the goal, but his act was not intentional.

In the final moments of the first half, Hakan Calhanoglu scored on a penalty to put Inter 2-0 ahead and 5-3 on aggregate.

Acerbi was seen celebrating wildly after the goal, as he ran past Martinez. TV cameras showed the Spanish footballer reacting by spitting towards the Italian.

"Acerbi celebrated the goal in my ear, I got angry, but the spit was not aimed towards him,' Martinez said.

'Otherwise, I would have been sent off."

Martinez somehow escaped the punishment but was booked early in the second half for a different offence.

Meanwhile, Acerbi was instrumental for Inter as he scored a stunner in the 93rd minute to take the game into extra time, while Davide Frattesi put the final nail in the coffin by scoring in the 99th minute to make it 4-3, which was the final score of the match.

Discussing the incident on a show after the match, former England great Wayne Rooney emphasised that if Martinez is found guilty, UEFA would not hesitate to respond.

"You certainly don't want to see that in a football game or anywhere," the Manchester United legend said. "If he has spat, then he'll get a punishment that he'll deserve."

Co-pundit Daniel Sturridge added: "Absolutely right. If he's done that, then it's not good - it's not necessary, it's not needed.

 

"We'll let the people do their job and see if he's actually done it."