BARCELONA DEFENDER GERARD Pique could be handed a lengthy ban after he was sent off for hurling abuse at the assistant referee during the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup last night.
The 28-year-old’s dismissal came early in the second-half and was a big set-back for the Catalans, who were already 4-0 down from the first leg. They had been leading 1-0 at half time at the Camp Nou but Bilbao made their numerical advantage count and equalised 15 minutes for time, wrapping up a comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory.
The centre-back’s outburst was in response to the lack of an offside decision against Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, the hat-trick hero from the first leg.
Spanish media are reporting that Pique could now be slapped with a 12-game ban for his actions, after the details of his rant were included in referee Velasco Carballo’s match report.
Carballo’s report says that in the 55th minute Pique was sent off for telling the assistant referee — “Me cago en tu puta madre”. This has been translated by several media outlets, with the English translation being reported as “I sh*t on your wh*re mother”.
This is not the first time Pique and the Madrid-based Carballo have been involved in a dispute. The referee also dismissed the Spanish international two seasons ago during a game with Sporting Gijon, with Pique claiming the decision had been “premeditated”.