Carles Puyol has apologised for what he called a “clumsy joke” after his response to a tweet from Iker Casillas’ official account.
A tweet from Casillas’ account sent out on Sunday afternoon read: “I hope I’ll be respected: I’m gay”, though it was later deleted with the former Real Madrid goalkeeper insisting that his account had been hacked.
Puyol’s response to the initial tweet from his former Spain team-mate read: “It’s time to tell our story, Iker”, followed by heart and kiss emojis.
That response has also now been deleted by Puyol, who apologised after receiving strong criticism across social media.
“I have made a mistake,” he said. “Sorry for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions and totally out of place.
“I understand that it may have hurt sensitivities. All my respect and support for the LGTBIQA+ community.”
After deleting the initial message, Casillas said: “Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”
