Diawara apology over Ronaldo tackle

Marseille defender Souleymane Diawara issued an apology on Monday for his tackle on Real Madrid star Ronaldo, which resulted in the Portuguese player being sidelined for two months with an ankle injury.

“It was in the heat of the game, nothing more, I’m not a violent player, I’ve never hurt anyone,” Diawara told Spanish sports daily Marca.

Diawara picked up a second yellow card and a sending off for the tackle in the Champions League game on September 30 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

The Senegalese international will meet Ronaldo again on Tuesday at the Stade Velodrome for the crucial Champions League encounter.

“I’ll greet him and tell him that I regret (what happened) but Ronaldo is a good person, a great footballer who knows very well that I didn’t want to hurt him,” added Diawara.

Nine-time European champions Real lead the group and will go through to the knockout stage provided they avoid defeat by three goals or more, due to their 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“It’s very complicated, not impossible, but almost,” added Diawara.