Spanish player accused of groping female rival

Former Spain women defender Mapi León has been accused of touching an opponent in the crotch area and asking: “Do you have a dick?”

The allegation against the Barcelona centre-back has emerged in the wake of Sunday’s Catalan derby amid clips posted on social media showing her clashing with Espanyol’s Daniela Caracas.

The alleged incident was condemned by Caracas’s club, who said they had offered her the services of their legal team if she wished to take action against León.

Espanyol said in a statement: “Espanyol wish to express total condemnation at events which took place during the game which we consider unacceptable and should not pass unnoticed.

“During the match, Barca player León, in a struggle with our player, Caracas, made a gesture which violated the privacy of said player.

“At the time, Caracas did not react because of the impact caused by the situation. Later, after assimilating what happened, she became aware of the seriousness of the gesture, but chose not to react angrily to avoid a disciplinary sanction and harming the team.”

Espanyol said the incident led to Caracas receiving insults on social media and that they were “concerned that, instead of focusing on the act itself, the media attention has been diverted to other issues unrelated to the seriousness of the action”.

León and Barca have yet to comment on Sunday’s alleged incident.