Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has said he "didn't mean" to catch Barcelona's Lionel Messi with a flailing forearm during the Clasico showdown between the two teams on Saturday.
Barcelona won the match 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's first-half goal and were largely in control at the Santiago Bernabeu. One of the main flashpoints in the game saw Messi and Ramos face off just before half-time, as the Madrid man caught his rival flush in the face with his arm.
Per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, speaking to television after the game Ramos said he had no intention to hurt Messi, although the Barcelona man did not see it that way:
Dermot CorriganRamos on TV “I didn’t mean to catch Messi, but he took it badly.