"Get over it, Unai" - Barcelona's Gerard Pique hits back at Unai Emery

Barcelona's Gerard Pique and Villareal boss Unai Emery have engaged in a war of words recently. It all started after Villareal's 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid.

Emery was asked by the media to comment on an incident that had seen Dani Parejo's goal chalked off by the referee.

Atletico Madrid were 1-0 up when Villareal were awarded a penalty which Gerard Moreno failed to convert. The resulting clearance by Madrid's defenders fell to Dani Parejo's feet. He made no mistake in putting the ball into the back of the net but the referee ruled it out for handball.

VAR reviews failed to spot any infringement but the referee had apparently seen enough to deny Villareal an equalizer.

It was not the only La Liga game that saw refereeing decisions questioned over the weekend. On Saturday, both Valencia and Real Betis aired their complaints on Twitter, lamenting controversial officiating in their respective games.

Valencia posted on their Twitter page that getting points robbed off Real Madrid has become repetitive. Their sentiments were supported by Gerard Pique.

The 34-year-old Barcelona defender quote-tweeted Valencia’s post saying:

“Do not say it too loud or they (the football authorities) are going to sanction you.”

While addressing Parejo's disallowed goal, Emery also took the opportunity to take a swipe at Pique. He said the defender had gotten away with a clear handball when Villareal lost 3-1 to Barcelona in earlier in the season.

Emery told the media:

“What happened to Pique there was handball and a penalty, it clearly touched his hand and we lost that game. It hurt me that he denied it later. What happened today was not a handball because he pushes the ball towards the goalkeeper with his (Parejo’s) hip."

Emery continued:

“The hand is there, but it’s not handball. Pique’s was, and yesterday he put protests on twitter over other teams. You have to be sincere and not confuse people."

“Instead of shutting up, he said what he said to fool people. We are neither honest or loyal to VAR or football. Today the ball has hit the hip and it has been seen as handball, but it was whistled and we have to accept it.”

As is often the case, the outspoken Barcelona defender was quick to reply. He sent a tweet directed at the former Arsenal manager saying:

"We speak of a person that three years after continues to complain about the referee in the 6-1 (Barcelona vs PSG). Get over it, Unai.”

He was referencing an interview in which Unai Emery, then managing PSG, was quizzed about a heavy 6-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Emery had told reporters:

"There are many details in the game that can be uncovered. But if I start from the end I change the referee and that would be everything. I saw the game again the other day repeated and I watched the referee from minute 50 to 82."

The former Gunners boss had added:

"We went from 3-0 down to make it 3-1 and we had a heads-up from Cavani that the goalkeeper took him out when we could have made it 3-2; a very clear penalty on Di Maria and the referee did not whistle."

Barcelona defender is not new to controvesy

Villarreal CF v Rayo Vallecano - La Liga Santander

The 34-year-old Barcelona defender has been rather bold on social media recently. He displayed his payslip on Twitter to debunk rumors that he earns 28m annually and dressed down former Barcelona presidential aspirant Toni Freixa.

He told the lawyer off, calling him a "scoundrel" in a rather ill-judged tweet about the cafeteria menu at Camp Nou.

The defender tweeted:

"You got the steak part wrong... it was Catalan sausage. The rest is ok. I'm now going to drink a gin and tonic to your health! Now you can keep deleting your tweets, you scoundrel."

Pique also defended Ousmane Dembele, who had been attacked online by Freixa. He further reprimanded the former Barcelona executive for failing to pay his associates when the former aspirant's presidential bid failed.

In February 2021, Pique was investigated by the Spanish FA for claiming in a YouTube interview that LaLiga referees "subconsciously favor Real Madrid".