By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
Paraguayan national team striker, Raúl Bobadilla, who has made 10 appearances for the nation, has apologised publicly for exposing his penis while celebrating a goal – thus igniting a controversy.
“I regret my celebration last night, I hope my wife has not seen it,” he said on Christmas eve.
After his 86th-minute strike on December 23, 2020 sealed a win for Guarani over Primera Division rival Libertad, Bobadilla ran to the sideline and removed his shirt — an automatic yellow card under FIFA’s laws of the game — and then began to pull down his shorts, too.
While video of the incident appeared to show that Bobadilla’s bare back side was visible to half of the stadium, including the referee, the 33-year-old was not shown a red card. But much of the talk after the match centered on what the cameras saw: images of Bobadilla’s pelvis and perhaps the very top of his genitals.
While he didn’t drop his waistline low enough for a full frontal, the Paraguayan Football Association wasn’t amused, with the governing body announcing that the player’s actions were being investigated and could result in discipline in the form of a fine or a suspension.
This is the second time this year that Paraguayan player has come under scrutiny for what some saw as an obscene celebration.
In March, Olimipia’s Jorge Recalde was banned for four matches for gesturing toward his groin area after scoring a goal.
And it’s the latest in a number of bizarre penis-related soccer stories in 2020.
Last month in England’s second tier, Preston’s Darnell Fisher was handed a three-game suspension after TV cameras caught him grabbing the crown jewels of Sheffield Wednesday’s Callum Paterson. In France, an amateur player was given a five-year ban in February for biting a player’s member during an altercation, causing a wound that required 12 stitches to close, as reported by yahoo.
