Gerard Piqué: ‘‘How are referees not going to whistle in favour of Real Madrid?”

In an interview with Post United, Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué shared his thoughts on the apparent favouritism from referees in Spain.

The defender specifically touched on the words of international referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez who claimed nine out of 10 Spanish referees support Real Madrid.

“A former referee said that 85 per cent of the referees support Real Madrid,” Piqué told the outlet. “How are they not going to whistle in favour of Real Madrid?”

“Even unconsciously, how are they not going to give more for one side than the other?”

While he respects the role of referees, Piqué said he can sometimes question their decisions in certain matches.

“I respect the referees’ professionalism and I know they try to do their best job, but when a moment of doubt comes...”

In the same interview, the defender also touched on the impact of Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos at their respective clubs behind the scenes.

“They have stature and can give their opinion and, from there, decisions can go one way or another,” said Piqué.

Regardless of their influence, he believes all decision ultimately come from above and touched on Ramos’ contract renewal as an example.

“When you have a board of directors or a president who are very strong, who have the right, clear ideas and they want to do something, the player has little say.”

“Sergio’s [contract] renewal is an example of when there is a strong president, makes a decision and wants to take that path and the players can’t do much.”