What’s the story?
Gerard Pique made a gesture towards La Liga president Javier Tebas after their match against Villarreal last night. He seemed to have said this to the president: “Did you see it? You, yes, you”, a quote which was meant to direct his attention towards the poor refereeing decisions which went against the team.
Now Pique has given his version of the story and there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference. “The person to whom I said those words and made that gesture knows it was for them. I still believe in what I say and every week makes me more in the right. You could clearly see it, I think it's very clear what happened on the pitch.”
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The Spanish defender seems to be standing by his actions on the pitch which will not do him much good in the near future.
In case you didn’t know...
This is not the first time Pique has expressed his views on what is right and what is wrong publicly. The player has had several arguments with different people which include players, referees, critics and the list goes on.
Most of his rants are through social media but he has also made several comments that have been recorded by journalists off the pitch. It comes as no surprise since Pique has expressed his dissatisfaction in such a manner several times before.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona have had a poor start to 2017 after being defeated by Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey and then drawing against the Yellow Submarines in La Liga. The fell even further behind in the title race and will now have to go on an incredible run to catch up to Los Blancos.
But the Catalans have had several decisions go against them in those two games. The most blatant of those was a handball in the Villarreal clash which was clear to everyone including the crowd but the referee somehow missed it.
Pique’s outburst is expected but not something that is not acceptable and he might be in trouble with the officials this week.
What’s Next?
For Pique, it could be yet another hearing and maybe even a ban for his actions. It could be just a fine but the Spaniard must learn to control his emotions to prevent retrospective action.
Barcelona will have to reflect upon a calamitous week where they slipped to 3rd in the table behind Sevilla and also suffered a knockout blow in the Copa Del Rey. They will need a positive result in the second leg to try and progress to the next stage of the competition.
Sportskeeda’s take
Pique standing by what his said is admirable when many would have retracted their statements and apologised. It shows how brave he is when it comes to his opinion on everything.
But there are times to be brave and times to be aware of the consequences of such comments. This was a time for him to understand the consequences of his actions but he failed to do so.
