Arjen Robben denies claims he spat at Bacary Sagna, explaining it was sweat dripping from his bald head
Some believed television pictures showed the Bayern Munich forward spitting into the hair of the Arsenal defender
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Arjen Robben has rubbished claims he spat at Bacary Sagna, explaining that television pictures showed sweat dripping from his face.
Images appeared to suggest the Bayern Munich forward spat at the Arsenal defender as he lay on the floor during the 2-0 Champions League win for the German side.
However, Robben has moved to explain what actually happened and calm all the speculation doing the rounds on social media.
"I don't have much hair, and the sweat just dripped off," said the former Chelsea player.
Robben also added that is was not in his nature to spit at his opponents.
"I must make this clear: I did not spit. I would never do that in my life," he said.
"If I ever did that, you could drag me off the pitch and ban me for 10 games. If I ever spat at an opponent, I'd never be able to show my face to my family ever again."
Robben, who won his side the penalty that led to Wojciech Szczesny's dismissal, was accused of theatrics by Arsene Wenger after the game. However, no representative from Arsenal accused Robben of spitting, with Sagna himself denying the suggestion on Twitter.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments