The Catalan club said in a statement, calling Mapi Leon by her full name Maria Pilar Leon: “We would like to express our total discontent and condemnation of the events that took place yesterday during the derby match between RCD Espanyol and Barcelona FC at the Dani Jarque stadium.
“During the match, the FC Barcelona player María Pilar Leon, in the middle of a struggle with our player, Daniela Caracas, made a gesture that violated the player’s intimacy.
TV cameras clearly picked up the moment Barcelona defender Mapi Leon deliberately touched Espanyol footballer Daniela Caracas’ genitals as the alleged sex assault victim prepared to defend a corner during a fiercely-contested derby match yesterday.
Mapi Leon was one of the footballers who said she didn’t want to play for her country again unless there were structural changes in the Spanish FA following the scandal unleashed by the kiss Luis Rubiales gave Jenni Hermoso after the 2023 women’s World Cup and his initial refusal to resign.
Spanish media and social media amateur lip readers reported the slur 29-year-old Leon, capped more than 50 times by her national team, fired off at Colombian-born Caracas during a brief push-and-shove struggle before and after the extraordinary crotch grab seemed to be ‘Tienes picha?.
