In a tense derby on Sunday, Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo was seen winding up a Espanyol player, forcing his coach, Xavi Hernandez, to apologize for his defender's behavior.
Three players, including Gerard Pique, were sent off as Barcelona snatched a point against their struggling neighbors thanks to a late strike from Luuk de Jong.
Nicolas Melamed of Espanyol was sent off at the same time as Pique, and as he exited the field, he was met by Araujo, who had been substituted at half-time due to an injury.
The Uruguayan rose from his bench seat to taunt Melamed, telling them his team is going to be relegated again.
Espanyol were relegated from LaLiga for the first time in 26 years in 2020, and they are in danger of relegation to the second division, despite their draw with Barcelona lifting them eight points above the drop zone.
Araujo extended two fingers to Melamed before making a thumbs down gesture, which was quickly misinterpreted as a relegation taunt.
Xavi, who had his back to Araujo, said he hadn't seen the incident, but when asked about it during the press conference, he apologized on behalf of his player.
'I'd like to apologize to all Espanyol fans for the unintentional gesture I made tonight,' he said.
'It was the result of the stress of a fiercely competitive derby.'
'I consider myself to be a respectful person with opposing clubs and their fans, which is why I am not proud of what happened.'
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