Bottle-throwing Valencia fan: I apologize, but Barca 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. 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. 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. At that moment, I saw a bottle lying on the ground, and on impulse picked it up and threw it at them."
So it all seems like a huge mistake that the fan regrets, but also thinks Neymar should take a bit of the blame. Furthermore, he isn't entirely sold on the idea that 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."
It's not so much of a full-fledged apology, after all. He couldn't help but get one last dig in on Barcelona. There's been no word on if the fan faces further punishment for the bottle-toss, but we'll see.
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