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Pepe sort of apologizes for Messi hand stomp

Dirty Tackle

Though Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal, Pepe stepping on Lionel Messi's hand and going unpunished for it is the only moment from the game that people seem to care about (including us). And because of the outrage that ensued, Pepe decided to release an apology. Kind of.

Says Pepe, via RealMadrid.com:

"I wish to say yesterday's incident with Leo Messi was unintentional, but I nevertheless want to apologise to him if he was offended because all I do is defend my team and this institution. I give my heart and soul, and the thought of hurting a colleague has never entered my mind."

Except for those times when it clearly does.

If you're just going to say "if he feels offended, I apologize," why even bother? That's not an apology. In fact, I think our version of a Pepe apology was much more sympathetic than this one. It also included way more references to Gila monsters.