West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been left fuming after Gerard Pique accused him of forcing an apology for his political stance.
The Barcelona legend revealed over the weekend that Lopetegui, during his time in charge of the national team, and then Spain captain Sergio Ramos had asked him to read a statement apologising to the country after the referendum in Catalonia in 2017.
The suspended referendum went ahead in the October of that year, but didn’t have legal backing. The Catalan government reported a 90% vote in favour of independence, with a 43% turnout. There has long been a clamour of Catalan independence and the likes of Pique, as well as Pep Guardiola, back it.
Lopetegui is furious about the comments and insists the facts have been twisted and exaggerated, according to Cadena SER. The now Hammers boss has claimed that there were witnesses to this event and that he simply gave ideas about how to manage the situation.
Pique told TV3 about his recollection of the experience: “Surprisingly, that night the coach and the captain, who were Julen Lopetegui and Sergio Ramos, met me. They said to me, ‘Gerard, you have to apologise. You have positioned yourself very much in favour of Catalonia’.
“I told them that I believed that I positioned myself with the right to vote and to be able to decide, so I was not going to make any statement or ask for forgiveness for it. Julen Lopetegui had already written down what I had to say on a piece of paper. He told me that tomorrow, I have to attend a press conference
“I went to the room, read the paper, threw it in the bin and said, ‘Look, if you want me to do a press conference I will do it, but it will be my way’. I will say that I am not going to ask for forgiveness, I am warning you. From that point on, every time I went with the national team it was s*** and whistles…”
Pique himself claimed in 2017 that he would quit the Spanish side if his presence was becoming a problem as he was regularly jeered by home fans when he played, but he would eventually remain and end up earning 102 caps.
“I think I can continue,” said the defender. “But if the board really thinks I’m a problem, I will take a step back and leave the national team before 2018. There are many people in Spain who disagree with what happened today and believe in democracy.”
