The incident occurred when the Moroccan made contact with Alexander Sorloth in a sensitive area while the ball was out of play.
Following a VAR review, referee Ortiz Arias issued a straight red, leaving Getafe a man down in a match eventually won 1–0 by Atletico thanks to Nahuel Molina’s goal.
Abqar describes the incident as a misunderstanding of his aggressive defensive style. He explained that the tussle was purely physical and not meant to harm Sorloth.
"I’m doing the interview because of the red card. It was not my intention to touch the player in that area,” Abqar told the media.
“In the game we clashed, but not once have I thought about touching him there. I swear I didn't think about touching him there.
"I wanted to bump into him like happens in football. The referee has seen it, but I didn't want to touch him there. They stop it there, but if you see the video, I don't even look at him. I wanted to touch his belly. It was not my intention to grab him in that area.”