Gerard Pique denies insulting assistant referee

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is apologizing for his attitude toward a linesman during the second leg of his club’s Spanish Super Cup tie against Athletic Bilbao on Monday August 17.

The 28-year-old Spanish international who was red carded 58 minutes into Barca's attempt at turning around a 4-0 first-leg deficit after Lionel Messi had given them a one-goal lead by half-time, insisted that he did not insult the assistant referee.

"I apologise for the attitude I used to protest with the linesman, it was not correct," Pique wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. It was a very tense match in which a lot was at stake. However, at no time did I say any kind of insult towards him."

On Barcelona

"FC Barcelona has presented on Tuesday an appeal against the red card shown to Gerard Pique in the 58th minute of the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club," the statement read. ''In the appeal we wanted to make clear that the player did not address the assistant referee in the terms written afterwards by the referee Velasco Carballo in the referee's report."

Piqué could face up to 12 weeks ban.

According to the referee, the words used were: “Me cago en tu puta madre” which translates as “I shit on your whore mother”.

Spanish football's disciplinary committee will meet on Wednesday to decide Pique's fate.