Arkansas fans have jumped to the defense of offensive tackle Fernando Carmona days after the Razorback junior disgustingly stomped on an opponent's ankle during Friday's bowl game.
Carmona's name has been in the headlines for the better part of 72 hours after he used his right foot to stomp on the ankle of Texas Tech player CJ Baskerville.
Baskerville could be seen lying on the ground, apparently still on the ground after making a tackle last week in Memphis.
It was at that moment that Carmona intentionally stomped on Baskerville's ankle, pushing all of his weight into his opponent's leg.
The act sparked a furious reaction online with Baskerville and fans criticizing Carmona for the disgusting act.
Now there has been a pro-Carmona backlash, made up of Arkansas fans, believing that the act was unintentional or not as bad as everyone else claimed.
Arkansas fans have jumped to the defense of Fernando Carmona after his disgusting stomp
On Friday, Carmona intentionally stomped on Baskerville's ankle during the team's bowl game.
'I don't know about this… Carmona goes over one player, then lands on the other player's ankle and lifts him up. And then Braylen (Russell) and a Tech player laugh… then the player with the injury gets up and starts walking again. “I don’t know, if it was that big of a deal you’d think other Tech players would have jumped in to help,” said one Razorback fan.
'Yeah, look, it looks like he was trying to use his right leg to clear people and he stepped on his foot. If the tech players had thought it was intentional during the game, they would have started pushing immediately. “That's what 99% of players do when they feel disrespected in a game.”
“I'm not sure #55 can even see where his feet land,” another Arkansas fan said on social media despite video showing Carmona looking at where his feet are planted the entire time.
“I'm going to defend my friend to the fullest,” said user @RVZORBVCK, showing his loyalty.
A collection of social media messages from Arkansas fans defending Carmona's actions
Carmona himself took to social media to apologize for the play, two days after it occurred.
The redshirt junior's original post after the game thanked his teammates and made no mention of the sickening stomp.
'I would like to apologize for my actions last Friday night at the Liberty Bowl. I let my emotions go away from me. I have nothing but respect for Texas Tech and football. I apologize to my team and my coaches. I'm not that type of player and I will learn from this,” Carmona said in X.
The Razorbacks have not issued an official statement on the matter, nor have Southeastern Conference or Liberty Bowl officials.
Baskerville himself posted two videos of the incident on X, writing alongside them: “There's no denying that Arkansas played a great game last night, I'm not going to take that away.”
'But Fernando Carmona's number 55, blatantly stepping on my ankle and putting pressure on it on purpose, is totally dirty.
'Keep saying “I have your bitch.” Do it better @RazorbackFB.'