Barcelona: Valencia fan who threw plastic bottle at Neymar and Luis Suarez accuses them of 'faking injuries'
Both players fell to the floor while celebrating Lionel Messi's late penalty winner at Mestalla
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Your support makes all the difference.The Valencia supporter who threw a plastic bottle at Barcelona’s players on Saturday has claimed that Neymar and Luis Suarez feigned their injuries.
Both players fell to the floor after being struck by the empty bottle, which was thrown after Lionel Messi scored a late penalty to secure Barça’s 3-2 away win.
Barcelona’s players have been accused of provoking Valencia’s supporters with their celebrations of the goal, which they conducted directly in front of Mestalla’s north stand.
The fan who threw the bottle has now come forward and apologised for his actions, but not without suggesting that the affected players exaggerated the severity of the incident.
“I completely regret it,” the 17-year-old supporter told 99.9, a Valencia radio station. “It isn't an act that defines me as a person, nor does it define Valencia's great fan-base.
“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. 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 was a water bottle, that despite being practically empty, was enough for not just one but up to five Barcelona players to feign contact.
“I ask Barcelona for forgiveness and also to my lifelong team, who I will continue to support until the end of my days.”
Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, was similarly cynical in his assessment of the Barcelona players’ reaction, describing the incident as “like a game of ten-pin bowling”.
“Perhaps they [fell because they] felt the water,” he suggested. “We have all seen these images and there are millions of children who are watching.
“If my children were to see my feigning something, I would feel embarrassed when I went to see them later.”
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