At the end of the first half of the match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, tensions flared between players. After Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored Inter’s second goal from a penalty, cameras zoomed in on Iñigo Martínez and Francesco Acerbi, who were separated by teammates.

Although the incident was not shown in the live broadcast, images circulated on social media suggest Martínez spat towards Acerbi, which appears to be the main cause of the confrontation between the two defenders.

The Barcelona defender explained after the match: “Acerbi celebrated the goal in my ear. I got angry, but I did not spit at him. If I had, I would have been sent off.”

When asked about Barcelona’s painful 4-3 defeat, which included controversial refereeing decisions, Martínez said: “Today, everyone saw the decisions favored one side, but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. The referee had to make a decision, and that’s how he decided. It’s a shame. We leave the field with our heads held high because we gave everything.”

On Barcelona’s morale ahead of El Clásico, he added: “Our team remains highly motivated. We will go for the win against Real Madrid without any doubt.”