Inter striker Lautaro Martinez did not spit at AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez while the two exchanged words during Saturday’s Milan derby despite some rumours to the contrary.
This is confirmed by Italian news outlet FCInterNews, who note that the highest-quality images of the incident between Martinez and Hernandez from DAZN’s official broadcast of the match do not show the striker spitting at all.
Hernandez was at the centre of a dramatic late incident in the Rossoneri’s 2-1 win in the derby, receiving a red card for a reckless challenge on Inter wing-back Denzel Dumfries in the dying minutes of the match.
As the Frenchman walked off, he made “I can’t hear you” gestures in the direction of the Nerazzurri fans and bench, and as he was walking back into the tunnel, Martinez went over to confront him.
The Argentine had been angered by Hernandez’s red card and subsequent gestures, and was shouting down at him in Spanish, all of which was captured on the broadcast of the match by official Italian Serie A broadcaster DAZN.
The AC Milan man briefly came back up the stairs to confront Martinez and the two had more words with one another, but were quickly separated.
Some rumours circulated by fans that Martinez had spat at Hernandez when he was initially shouting down the tunnel at him, but a closer look at the highest-quality doesn’t reveal anything of this sort.
There appears to be something that flashes by the reflection in the mirror on the way down to the tunnel that could be mistaken for spit, but there’s absolutely no indication that this was actually what happened, despite the rumours.
