Ascacibar: It wasn't my intention to spit on Kai Havertz
Santiago Ascacibar was handed a six-week suspension for spitting on Kai Havertz. But the Stuttgart midfielder now claims that he didn't actually mean to do so.
Santiago Ascacibar will not get to play for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga again this season after he received a six-week ban for spitting on Kai Havertz in his team's 0-1 defeat on April 13.
But the midfielder now claims that it wasn't actually his intention to hit the Bayer Leverkusen star.
"I was provoked several times, and some things were said in my direction. Then I let myself be carried away and acted rashly. That was a huge mistake. Although I'd like to explain what exactly happened," Ascacibar told Sport Bild and added:
"I wanted to spit on the pitch next to him. It wasn't my intention to hit Kai Havertz. It was a stupid thing to do, but it wasn't intentional. I knew immediately that I had made a mistake."
Ascacibar also explains that he hasn't personally apologized to Havertz.
"I did so in a message from the club. It stated that the apology was also directed towards Kai Havertz. There has been no direct contact with him. There was some provocation between us during the game that nobody noticed," he said.