Khaberni - A decision was issued to suspend Gerard Pique, the former star of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, and the current owner of the Spanish club Andorra, for two months.
The suspension was a result of a sharp dispute between the 39-year-old businessman and the referee of the match, which his team lost 0-1 against Albacete last weekend in the Spanish second division league.
In the official match report, the referee Alonso de Ina Wolf reported that Pique and other members of the club, both administrators and players, verbally assaulted the refereeing team.
The Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee announced that Pique's two-month suspension was due to "improper and public actions that damage sports dignity", based on the facts presented in the referee's report.
The suspension means that Pique is prohibited from engaging in any football-related activities during the designated period.
Moreover, the committee decided to impose an additional suspension on Pique for six matches due to "actions involving mild violence against the referees".
The penalties also extended to other officials, where Ferran Vilaseca, president of Andorra club, was suspended for four months, and the sports director Jaume Nogues and several other individuals from the technical staff of the club were suspended.
The referee Ina Wolf mentioned that Pique told him "leave with protection lest you get attacked", after he objected to refereeing decisions made during the match.
Pique also added, according to the report: "In any other country, they would have beaten you, but here in Andorra, a law-respecting town."
The referee noted that after they got into the car to leave, Nogues addressed the referees saying: "I hope you have an accident."
Last week, Pique revealed via social media that the club had previously sent an official letter to the federation requesting the exclusion of referee Ina Wolf from officiating any of the team's matches.
The company "Cosmos", owned by the former Barcelona defender, is the largest shareholder in Andorra club, which currently ranked tenth in the second division league standings.
