
A Spanish women’s soccer player has denied allegations that she grabbed an opposing player’s crotch and questioned her gender during a recent game.
Video of FC Barcelona player María Pilar León and RCD Espanyol player Daniela Caracas from the Sunday, February 9, match began circulating on social media earlier this week. The clip shows León and Caracas bumping into each other. León pauses and stares at Caracas briefly before appearing to tap her below the waist. León looks away before quickly snapping her head back toward Caracas and saying something to her. She then shoves Caracas, and play continues, apparently without further incident.
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They were condemned by the national league, which has been trying to stop this chanting for years.
The six-second clip went viral, with some on social media suggesting that what León asked Caracas after touching her may have been “¿Tienes picha?” which translates to “Do you have a d**k?”
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Si a Rubiales lo condenaron por un beso, quiero ver cómo se desarrollará esta situación que es GRAVÍSIMA. Increíble ver esto en el fútbol. María del Pilar León abusó de Daniela Caracas. Sin más ni menos. pic.twitter.com/gRHFBPOL9b
— Felipe Cubillos (@fcubillos11) February 10, 2025
As the Daily Mail notes, there has previously never been any suggestion that Caracas is anything other than a cisgender woman prior to the clip going viral.
On Monday, RCD Espanyol released a statement condemning León’s behavior, calling it “unacceptable.” León’s “gesture,” the statement reads, “violated the intimacy of our player,” Caracas.
“Although Caracas was unable to react at the time due to the impact of the situation, later, after assimilating what had happened, she became aware of the seriousness of the gesture but chose not to react angrily in order to avoid a disciplinary sanction that would harm the team,” Espanyol’s statement continues. “In addition to what happened on the pitch, there was a regrettable response on social media, where our player has been the target of insults from hundreds of profiles. We are concerned that, instead of focusing on the incident itself, part of the media attention has been diverted to other issues unrelated to the seriousness of the action.”
The team added that it has made its legal services available to Caracas should she choose to pursue legal action.
The same day, León responded directly to the allegations via a statement released by FCB Barcelona.
“At no time did I, nor was it my intention, [to] infringe upon the intimacy of my fellow professional Daniela Caracas,” León said.
León went on to claim that during play, Caracas “deliberately” touched her, and she responded by touching Caracas’s leg and asking, “What’s up with you.”
“There is NO contact with her private parts, and certainly no intention,” León said, insisting that the interaction was “just part of the game” and did not warrant the attention it has received.
“The idea of touching the private parts of a colleague would never enter my head, it goes against my principles and I would never do such a thing,” León continued. “I condemn the harassment that Daniela appears to have been suffering on social networks, which has nothing to do with me, and I offer her my most sincere support.”
León added that she is “deeply upset” about the “noise and controversy” surrounding the incident and reserves the right to take legal action against anyone “spreading unfounded accusations.”
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