Milan, Maignan explains the gesture against Bournemouth on Instagram

The goalkeeper and captain of Milan's red-and-black, Mike Maignan, broke the silence after the 3‑0 defeat to Bournemouth in the Europa League, posting an Instagram story in which he defends the gesture that led to his dismissal in the first half of the match.

The gesture and the sanction

In the first half, Maignan was shown a direct red card for pushing opponent Tyler Adams, striking his face with the hand during the development of a corner kick; at the time of the dismissal the score was already 1‑0 in favor of the English.

At the end of the match, the captain did not appear in front of the microphones; several reports indicated an early exit from the stadium, with his face visibly downcast.

The silence was broken today by the goalkeeper via an Instagram story, where he wrote: "My gesture was not intentional. Like all goalkeepers and like in any match, I wanted to create some space in my area. Unfortunately, this gave a bad image, especially to the young viewers who watch us."

Maignan added that the club, the staff and the teammates know the kind of person and captain he is, understand his intentions and will not abandon him; he emphasized that he is used to the interpretations of some people and certain media.

With the message, the goalkeeper sought to clarify the incident and put an end to the controversy generated by the dismissal.