Espanyol has hit out at Barcelona defender Mapi León, who was caught on camera touching the privates of Daniela Caracas during a game on Sunday.

In the first half of the Liga F match between the local rivals, León touched Caracas in her crotch area after the players clashed in the box during a set piece. León then appeared to hurl a verbal insult at the Espanyol defender.
In a statement published on the club’s website, Espanyol expressed its “total discontent and condemnation” of León’s actions, saying the defender “violated the privacy” of Caracas.

Espanyol added that Caracas has been subject to “hundreds” of insults on social media after a clip of the interaction with León went viral.
Barcelona, which currently leads the Spanish top flight, won the match 2-0 over 13th-place Espanyol.

Espanyol said: “Although Caracas, at the time, could not react because of the impact caused by the situation, later, when she assimilated what had happened, she became aware of the seriousness of the gesture, but chose not to react angrily to avoid a disciplinary sanction and harm the team.”
The club said that it made its legal team available to Caracas should she wish to pursue charges against the Spain international.

“At RCD Espanyol we defend our player and condemn any act that threatens the integrity of female footballers on the pitch,” the club said. “We firmly believe in respect and sportsmanship as fundamental values ​​of football and we hope that these types of situations are treated with the seriousness they deserve. In addition, we have made the club’s legal services available to our player in case she wishes to take legal action.”

Caracas, 27, is a Colombia international who was a part of the team’s run to the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals.

FC Barcelona rebuked the act via a press note issued by the player condemning the act.