Raphinha apologises for 'mistake' after being subbed vs Man Utd, says it won't happen again

Barcelona forward Raphinha has apologised for his furious reaction to being substituted in Thursday night's Europa League clash against Manchester United, and says it won't happen again.

The in-form Brazilian was arguably Barca's stand out performer in their entertaining 2-2 draw with United but soon after equalising for the Blaugrana, he was replaced by Ferran Torres.

Xavi's decision to make the late substitution was met with fury by the former Leeds winger, who looked far from happy as he trudged off the Camp Nou pitch.

Then, after sitting down on the bench, Raphinha appeared to punch the back of Marcos Alonso's seat.

🥶 El enfado de Raphinha en el banquillo y Jordi Alba intentando calmarlo. pic.twitter.com/a1AoofWo7p

— Iniestazo (@INIE8TAZO) February 16, 2023

As you can see from the footage above, teammate Jordi Alba tried his best to calm the Brazilian down but he was clearly overcome with anger.

After the full-time whistle, an apologetic Raphinha said it was a "mistake" to react in such a way.

“I already spoke to the coach after the game, I took the opportunity to apologise to everyone," he said.

"To the coach again, to Ferran, who was going to take my position, to the team, to the fans. But there are times when we really want to be on the pitch to help the team win.

"We are human beings and we all have moments that we cannot control. I know that I made a mistake and I am here to apologise to everyone and it won’t happen anymore."

Barcelona manager Xavi also reacted to Raphinha's actions after being subbed off.

"I perfectly understand [his anger], it happened to me to in my career as well, but I [make decisions] for the good of the team, not to single anyone out," Xavi said in his post-match press conference.

"He's come to apologise just now, but he didn't have to. That's the attitude to have. I don't see it as a negative, I see it as a positive.

"The players can even insult me if they want, seriously!"

Xavi also said Barca should have been given a "crystal clear" penalty for a Fred handball after Raphinha's equaliser.

"It was a really even game against a top team," he added. "They are well coached, very physical and compete really well. We dominated many phases of the match; there were chances for both teams.

"We felt we could have got the winning goal. I said on Wednesday it will be decided at Old Trafford and that will be the case.

"I am relatively satisfied. We don't like drawing, but we competed against one of the best teams right now in Europe."

In terms of the action on Thursday night, Marcos Alonso opened the scoring for the home side before Marcus Rashford equalised with a neat finish.

An own goal from Jules Kounde put United ahead before the hour mark, but Raphinha's effort to make it 2-2 puts the Europa League tie in the balance ahead of next week's second leg at Old Trafford.

Thoughts on Raphinha's actions on Thursday night?

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