Barcelona centre back Gerrard Pique has been hit with a four match ban following his sending off for insulting a linesman in Monday night’s Spanish Super Cup second leg against Athletic Bilbao.
The Spaniard, who watched the first leg from the bench, was sent off in the 55th minute as Barca drew 1-1 at home to Athletic, losing 5-1 on aggregate over two legs.
He protested when the assistant referee didn’t signal for an offside, allowing Aduriz a shot at Barca’s goal which was saved by Claudio Bravo. Pique boiled over and screamed at the linesman when the ball went out for a corner.
The statement from the referee’s report read that Pique screamed at his assistant: “Me cago en tu puta madre”- some derogatory Spanish of vague reference to the linesman’s mother.
Pique took to Twitter on Tuesday to deny the referee’s claims. That has, however, not stopped him from being fined 3,005 euro, while the club receives a 1,400 euro fine for the offence.
Barca can appeal for a reduction of the ban terms but pending, the defender will miss Sunday’s La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao, and subsequent matches against Malaga, Atletico Madrid and Levante.
It has been a tough week for Pique, who was also caught on camera saying “que se jodan en Madrid” – “they can go f** themselves in Madrid, let them watch us win it all” ahead of their 4-0 defeat in the Super Cup first leg.
In January 2013, Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos received a one-match ban for his dismissal in a cup match against Celta Vigo and further four matches for calling referee Ayza Gámez a “crook” and screaming “same as always, you’re a gang of crooks”.
