The Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee sanctioned Gerard Piqué, the former Barcelona defender, on Tuesday.
The former Spanish star has returned to the spotlight following his involvement in a new incident with the refereeing team during his side Andorra’s match against Málaga, which ended in a 3-3 draw in the Spanish second division.
The newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported: "The match referee, Alejandro Olaso Valera, recorded the incident in his report as follows: Immediately after the end of the first half, whilst in the tunnel leading to the changing rooms, Mr Gerard Piqué Bernabéu approached the first assistant referee in an aggressive manner, shouting and pointing his index finger at him just a few centimetres from his face, repeatedly using the following phrases: 'This is a historic robbery' and 'I’m going to post this on Twitter'.
The referee continued: “This individual also behaved in an abusive manner towards members of the Málaga club, and members of the Andorra club and security personnel were forced to separate them.”
The newspaper added: “We explained last week that Andorra could face a severe penalty from the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee due to repeated offences this season… A similar incident occurred at the end of December during the half-time break of the team’s match against Deportivo La Coruña, in which Piqué was also involved.”
On that occasion, the committee fined Piqué €9,000, the same amount he paid last October against Leganés for using abusive language towards the referee, Saúl Ays Reg.
This time, the decision stipulates “a fine for passive condoning of violent behaviour, xenophobia and intolerance, in accordance with Article 114 of the Disciplinary Code”.
However, the disciplinary body has not yet carried out the threat it issued last October, when it announced that in the event of a repeat offence, it could apply one of the sanctions set out in Article 93.1 of the Disciplinary Code. These are extremely severe penalties, comprising a fine ranging from €602 to €3,006, and one or more of the following: exclusion or suspension for a period ranging from one month to two years or at least four matches; or total or partial closure of the stadium for up to three matches or two months; or a deduction of three points from the final standings.
The Disciplinary Committee issued its decision today, Tuesday, fining Gerard Piqué €12,000.
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