According to a report by Ivan San Antonio in SPORT, the coaching staff at Barcelona has confirmed that there was no unusual incident involving Raphinha during their match against Valencia in April, despite what some media outlets have suggested.
It is no secret that there never seems to be a calm day at Barça. The uncertainty surrounding the future plans of Barcelona’s first team makes it easy for all kinds of rumours to spread quickly.
One of the latest rumours involved Raphinha and alleged poor behaviour during the match against Valencia at the Estadi Olimpic.
Altercation between Xavi and Raphinha?
The rumour claimed that an incident involving The Brazil international began in the 66th minute when he was substituted.
According to the sources, Raphinha left the field visibly upset, made some comments, and supposedly insulted Xavi’s assistant Oscar Hernandez while shaking his hand.
The situation allegedly escalated when Xavi was informed about Raphinha’s behaviour. It was said that Xavi then decided Raphinha would not play in the next match.
“Calm down, you won’t play against Girona now,” the manager reportedly said to the forward.
No tussle between Raphinha and the coaching staff
When Barcelona played against Girona at Montilivi, Raphinha indeed started on the bench and only entered the game in the 70th minute.
However, contrary to media speculation, sources from Xavi’s coaching staff firmly deny any wrongdoing.
They acknowledge that Raphinha was disappointed when he was substituted, but they insist that at no point did he insult or show disrespect to Oscar Hernandez or any other member of the Barcelona staff.
Furthermore, they deny the claim that Xavi took any retaliatory action against him.
According to the coaching staff, no inappropriate behaviour occurred during the match against Valencia, and therefore, there was no reason for any disciplinary action.
