Barcelona player Mapi León banned for two matches after appearing to touch the groin of an opponent

Mapi Leon was banned by RFEF for two games over the incident with Daniela Caracas. (Judit Cartiel/Sipa USA/AP via CNN Newsource)

Barcelona Femení player Mapi León was banned for two matches after appearing to touch the groin area of Espanyol defender Daniela Caracas.

The incident happened in the 15th minute of the Barcelona derby on February 9 when León and Caracas were jostling for position in the penalty area.

“The FC Barcelona player, Mapi León, was banned (for) two matches by the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) competition committee,” Liga F, the top division of women’s football in Spain, told CNN Sports in a statement.

“Liga F is not going to make any further statement on this matter.”

León missed Barça’s 5-1 win over Sevilla on Wednesday and the 6-0 win over Atlético Madrid on Sunday due to her ban.

CNN has reached out to Barcelona, Espanyol and RFEF for comment.

After the initial incident, León had denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement shared by Barcelona that there was “NO contact with (Caracas’) private parts, and certainly no intention.”

Footage of the incident was widely shared on social media, and in a statement released the day after the match, Espanyol said “violated the intimacy of our player.”

Barça ended up winning the derby match 2-0.

León, who has played more than 50 times for the Spanish national team, is a key player for Barcelona, winning five league titles and three Women’s Champions Leagues.

Written by Matias Grez and George Ramsay, CNN