Why Acerbi was furious with Inigo Martinez after disgusting gesture at 2-0

MILAN, ITALY – MAY 06: Referee Szymon Marciniak approaches Francesco Acerbi of FC Internazionale as he is held back by Pedri of FC Barcelona whilst gesturing during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on May 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Francesco Acerbi was enraged with Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez after the Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, because video shows he spat at the Inter defender.

It was clear that Acerbi was furious with Inigo Martinez straight after the conversion of the spot-kick, which gave Inter a 2-0 lead on the night in their Champions League semi-final, 5-3 on aggregate.

MILAN, ITALY - MAY 06: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale (L) celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammate Marcus Thuram (R) during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on May 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) — MILAN, ITALY – MAY 06: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale (L) celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Marcus Thuram (R) during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on May 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

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Only later did it become apparent what had sparked his anger, as the Barcelona player was caught on camera seeming to spit at Acerbi as he ran past to celebrate the goal.

Inigo Martinez seemed to spit at Acerbi

Referee Szymon Marciniak spoke to the VAR officials, but they were unable to definitively identify the incident in time to take action, which would’ve seen Inigo Martinez sent off.

It is possible UEFA can retroactively take disciplinary steps to ban Inigo Martinez for his unsporting behaviour.

epa12078775 FC Inter's Francesco Acerbi (L) scores the 3-3 goal during the UEFA Champions League semifinal 2nd leg soccer match between Inter Milan and FC Barcelona, in Milan, Italy, 06 May 2025. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO — epa12078775 FC Inter’s Francesco Acerbi (L) scores the 3-3 goal during the UEFA Champions League semifinal 2nd leg soccer match between Inter Milan and FC Barcelona, in Milan, Italy, 06 May 2025. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

Nonetheless, if the moment had been missed and Inter had gone out of the Champions League, it would’ve been seen as a failure of VAR not to send the player off.

Inter eventually won the tie 7-6 on aggregate, with a 5-4 victory in extra time on the night.