Johan Mojica of RCD Mallorca reacts during the Spanish championship La Liga football match between RCD Mallorca and FC Barcelona Johan Mojica of RCD Mallorca reacts during the Spanish championship La Liga football match between RCD Mallorca and FC Barcelona on December 3, 2024 at Son Moix in Palma, Spain - Picture: Ricardo Larreina / Spain DPPI / DPPI via AFP
Image: Ricardo Larreina / Spain DPPI / DPPI via AFP
It’s quite common to see a footballer lash out at an opposition player, but much less so is that anger reserved for a teammate.
Johan Mojica, however, stunned spectators as he headbutted his fellow Mallorca player Manu Morlanes during their 5-1 defeat to Barcelona in their La Liga clash at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Tuesday.
The loss left Mallorca fifth, while table toppers Barcelona moved to 37 points and four ahead of Real Madrid who have two games in hand.
Ferran Torres took the lead for Barcelona in the 12th minute, but that goal was cancelled out when Vedat Muriqi equalised just before the break.
With the scores still locked at 1-1 after the break, Mojica brought down Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in the Mallorca box. As the referee pointed to the spot, Mojica responded by walking over and headbutting his teammate Morlanes. Morlanes then said something to Mojica who then punched him in the arm.
It’s unclear what exactly transpired between the two players, but it signalled a flood of goals from Barcelona with strikes coming from Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong and Paul Victor to round out the thrashing.
Perhaps even more bizarre was that there was not a single card awarded to either player during the incident, or for the entire duration of the match.
The controversial moment certainly played into Barcelona’s favour, but they were also totally dominant on the night.
In total, they reeled off 20 shots to the six of the hosts. Barcelona also enjoyed the lions’ share of possession with 61%. Barcelona delivered 500 passes to the 318 of Mallorca.