Copa del Rey 2016/17: Gerard Pique to face disciplinary action for outburst at referee

What’s the story?

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique could face action for his outburst at referee David Fernandez Borbalan following their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao, according to Sport.

The Referee's Technical Committee will conduct a meeting on Monday to assess whether Pique’s comments made after the game were worthy of a sanction or not.

"We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works,” said Pique at the post-match conference.

In case you did not know...

This is not the first time Pique has been involved in such a situation. The Spaniard was earlier scrutinised in 2012 by the Referee's Committee for his statements made about referee Velasco Carballo.

Fernández Borbalán was also the referee of the famous El Clasico clash where Jose Mourinho poked his finger into Tito Vilanova's eye. That action ended up with a two-game ban for the then Real Madrid coach, while Vilanova was given a one-game ban.

The heart of the matter

Pique and Neymar both had penalty appeals turned down by referee David Fernandez Borbalan during the game. Athletic forward Aritz Aduriz even managed to escape a red card for punching Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti in his throat.

Although Athletic Bilbao had 2 men sent off, with Raul Garcia and Ander Iturraspe both earning second yellow cards, Pique still felt that many of the decisions were swayed against them.

Comparing the referee's performance to that of a casino roulette, Pique might have overstepped the line in his criticism of the referee and could be punished.

The 29-year-old Spanish international, who has a reputation for revoking the long rivalry between Barcelona and Los Blancos, also complained about Zinedine Zidane's side receiving a soft penalty in their 3-0 win over Sevilla on Wednesday.

What’s next

Barcelona and Pique will look to avenge their defeat to Athletic when the Basque side travels to Camp Nou next Wednesday for their return fixture of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie.

Sportskeeda’s take

Such comments are in poor taste by the Barcelona centre-back and he should face consequences that come his way. It would have been better if he would have been calm instead of making such comments.

Composure and calmness during tough times determine the greatness of a player, and Pique rest assured is amongst the best defenders we have seen in our time.