Gerard Pique has sensationally blamed one of his Barcelona teammates for the sending off that brought his playing career to a close.
The Spanish defender announced earlier this month that he was retiring from the professional game ahead of the World Cup. His final outing at the Camp Nou came in a 2-0 La Liga victory over Almeria at the weekend where he was handed a standing ovation by teammates and supporters.
He had the chance to round-off his career against Osasuna on Tuesday night and had been expected to be used as a substitute late on by Barca boss Xavi Hernandez after being named on the bench. But the former Manchester United man never quite made it that far - being sent off after confronting the referee at half time.
Striker Robert Lewandowski had been awarded a red card for two bookable offences in the first period - decisions which left Pique incensed.
He approached the referee at half-time and, according to the reports in the Spanish press and indeed the referee's own match report, said: “I s*** on your prostitute mother." Understandably, it led to him also being given his marching orders, despite only being a subsitute.
However, the former defender has vehemently denied those claims. Instead, he says that it was actually an unnamed teammate who said it. Speaking to Ibai Llanos on Twitch about the controversial incident, he said: “I’ve been doing interviews since I was 17 years old.
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“Now I’m free, you no longer have to be pigeonholed and answer what you have to. I didn’t sh*t on anyone’s mother. I’ll explain how it was and I understand that it’s current.
“At half-time, after the referee harmed us, Robert’s first yellow is not a yellow, there is no corner, then the foul on Marcos Alonso… it’s not that they are dubious plays. The corner, the ball does not pass near anyone.
“We go into the tunnel and I told him that he always harms us. With that alone he sends me off. I’m surprised he sent me off for that. At the smallest thing, they send you off, you can’t say anything.
“In the Premier League, they allow you to talk to them. I, already sent off, go into the locker room with more team-mates who came from playing. There is someone inside who says ‘I sh*t on the f*cking mother of...’. The referee listens to him from his locker room and puts the words in my mouth.”
Despite both Lewandowski and Pique having both been sent off, Barcelona surprisingly managed to win the game against Osasuna. Young midfielder Pedri equalised just after the break before former Leeds wideman Raphinha netted the winner in the 85th minute.
The victory leaves Xavi’s side sitting top of LaLiga, two points clear of nearest challengers and great rivals Real Madrid heading into the World Cup.
