Here is what Gerard Pique said to Diego Costa after the striker received the red card on Sunday.
Gerard Pique might have saved his national teammate Diego Costa from getting banned for multiple games after receiving a red card for abusing the referee’s mother.
Costa was shown a straight red card in the 27th minute after abusing referee Jesus Gil Manzano, allegedly telling him: “I s*** on your wh*** mother, I s*** on your wh*** mother.”
The forward was disgusted with the decision, and aggravated his angriness towards the referee until his compatriot Gerard Pique grabbed him by the mouth to calm him down.
According to the Spanish publication AS, Gerard Pique reportedly said, Costa: “Stop talking now! What do you want, a four-match ban?”
That instance and word from Gerard Pique seemed to have calmed him down who had no other chance to walk down the tunnel to watch the game from the stands for the rest of the game.
Nevertheless, it is not expected to save him from a lengthy ban, with some speculation he could miss up to the next eight matches of Atletico’s season.
His teammates will no doubt be furious with Costa, and after playing with ten men for the majority of the game, thereby failing at the last moment when the whole team ran out of energy. They could not prevent a 2-0 slump to the hosts, thanks to a great goal from Luis Suarez from outside the box and an excellent solo goal from Lionel Messi to put the game beyond the sight of Diego Simeone’s men.
The result sees Barcelona sit at the top of the pile and extend the lead to eleven points with eight games left in the season.
After the game, Diego Simeone was not able to defend Diego Costa in the post-match press conference. The Argentine International said “If Costa really said what the referee claims he did then he was correctly sent off.”
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With that defeat, Atletico Madrid have blown away their title hopes after being kicked out by Juventus in the Champions League Round of 16. On the other hand, Barcelona will take on Manchester United in the Champions League Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
