Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was spat at by a Valencia supporter after netting his third goal for the Gunners in Thursday’s Europa League semifinal clash.
The incident was caught by the BT Sport cameras just seconds after Aubameyang sealed his hat trick and put the game to bed.
The Gabonese forward was celebrating after putting his side beyond reach in a 4-2 win that brought them to a 7-3 aggregate.
The incident left a section of fans fuming over the soiling of the ‘beautiful football’ by some fans.
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Dear @UEFA, @Arsenal & @valenciacf
Clear evidence of a Valencia fan aiming to spit at @Aubameyang7.
First issue in the 1st leg, now this
Valencia fan attempting to spit on Aubameyang after he scored his third goal... Disgusting ???? pic.twitter.com/72pUPyztTJ — PUSHED OUT BY BARTHEZ, WILTOOOORD (@BarnesIsDown) May 9, 2019
One fan’s Tweet: 'Football is so beautiful and then there are idiots like this Valencia fan who tries to spit on Aubameyang. I guess that's the bad side of some fans.'
Valencia took an early lead through a Kevin Gameiro strike, prompting fears of another bad away day for Arsenal.
Aubameyang, however, equalized on 17 minutes before Alexander Lacazette netted the second, but Valencia weren’t ready to go down without a fight. Gameiro pulled the tie level again but the unstoppable former Dortmund man found the net twice to seal a final spot for Arsenal.
"I am very proud of the players and the supporters, the players did all they could and we can be proud of the whole club."
"The past is for experience and can be used in the present. It is very difficult to play in finals and we took our opportunity today which we are happy about.
"We knew we had to be calm after they scored and we needed to control our emotions.
"It is very difficult to score four goals against this team because they are very organised. It gave us confidence to score quickly we know our strikers are taking chances." Said Arsenal boss Unai Emery after the match.
