Sevilla defender Joris Gnagnon has publicly apologised to Liverpool's Yasser Larouci for his 'heinous' challenge on the youngster in a pre-season friendly in the USA.
The tackle occurred in the 76th minute, with the 22-year-old Frenchman needlessly taking out Larouci from behind with a violent swipe of his right leg, sending the youngster flying and forcing him off on a stretcher.
"I would like to publicly apologise to Liverpool, the family of the player and the supporters. It was a heinous act on my part for whatever reason and should not be seen on a football field. All my prayers are with the player and the family" https://t.co/kdIhNX5Aqv
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) July 22, 2019
The centre-back was duly sent off, and after the clash he took to Twitter to make his apologies, declaring: "I would like to publicly apologise to Liverpool, the family of the player and the supporters. It was a heinous act on my part for whatever reason and should not be seen on a football field.
"All my prayers are with the player and the family".
In a tweet of their own, Sevilla then added: "Everyone at Sevilla FC wishes Yasser Larouci a full and fast recovery after tonight's game."
Fortunately, it appears that the 18-year-old has not sustained any serious injury, with Jurgen Klopp revealing it looks like he got 'lucky', though he did leave the Fenway Park ground on crutches.
Speaking on the tackle, as quoted by BBC Sport
“Let me say how the situation is with Yasser; it looks like he was lucky but, of course, how it always is with these things we have to wait a little bit.
"He couldn’t keep on playing, so that’s the first not-so-good sign but in the dressing room it was OK, similar to how it looks to Harry [Wilson]."
Wilson was involved in a first-half altercation with Eva Banega, who could've been equally expelled by the referee for an elbow to the Welshman's face.
The German continued: “Harry got a knock on his jaw and a finger in his eye, so not too cool. He should be OK as well but couldn’t carry on as well. That’s the situation.”
Everyone at Sevilla FC wishes Yasser Larouci a full and fast recovery after tonight's game.
— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) July 22, 2019
Larouci's teammate James Milner was not so coy with his words, calling Gnagnon's tackle a 'disgrace' before telling LFCTV: "Was it too much? I thought so, yes.
"We know it's only a friendly, but you don't see many red cards in friendlies, do you? You don't normally see too many tackles like that."
Source : 90min