Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o has hit out at Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard for saying he refused to play as a substitute in Sunday's 2-0 win over Racing Santander.
"Telling a news conference I didn't want to play is the behaviour of a bad person," Eto'o said."They can say what they want but I've always met my obligations to my team mates. If you want to know what really happened you should ask Rijkaard."
The Dutch coach asked Eto'o, who recently returned after four months out with a knee injury, to come on in the closing minutes at the Nou Camp but the striker rejected the request.
"Eto'o warmed up but afterwards told (assistant coach) Eusebio he did not want to come on," said Rijkaard after the game.
"I think it's a shame because every minute, every moment, can be important...I haven't spoken with him but I'm always prepared to talk to the players."
Eto'o, whose outspoken comments have landed him in trouble in the past, said the incident had been built up in the media by opponents of Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
"I've found myself in the middle of a war which isn't mine," he said.
"There are two groups in Barcelona and I'm the one taking the flak.
"I don't have to give any explanations to anyone. I will only give an explanation to the club if they ask me to."
Earlier the Barcelona President, Joan Laporta, denied Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o had refused to play last Sunday, saying the striker opted out for physical reasons.
"His knee needs time to warm up and he didn't have enough time. He preferred to be careful,» Laporta was quoted as saying by the Web site of sports daily Marca.
"He didn't do anything inappropriate or wrong. There is no way it can be deduced that Eto'o refused to play soccer for Barcelona."
The African Footballer of the Year had been expected to offer Rijkaard an explanation of his behaviour at training on Monday.
Instead, Eto'o stayed in the club gymnasium, apparently because of a painful knee.
Eto'o risks being fined or even dropped from Barcelona's squad for next Sunday's Spanish league game at Valencia.
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