Reactions on Messi spitting incident

While some Madrid media are asking for the Spanish football association to take action, several people have been commenting on the incident during Saturday's game against Málaga when Barcelona player Lionel Messi was supposedly caught by television cameras spitting at Malaga player Dudu (read more here).


Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola
It's not good that these things happen. During a game there's a lot of tension, people can get caught up by circumstances. We will try to avoid this in the future.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta
I guess it's normal that, when things are going well, they're trying to destabilize Barcelona. If this action isn't mentioned in the referee's report, it shouldn't be punished. This is not a football issue. We don't spend our time looking for videos to get opponents punished. We're focusing on our stuff and we play football.

Malaga player Duda
I already forgot about it. For me, the case is closed. You shouldn't try to find things between Messi and me that aren't there.

Malaga president Fernando Sanz
I'm not in favour of a sanction although people should be able to control themselves. Messi is one of the best players in the world and there are a lot of children who are watching him. I would suggest Messi to offer his apologies.


Watch a video of the incident: