Gerard Pique criticized the Royal Spanish Football Federation on social media after the club received no disciplinary notices eleven days after a match against Tenerife.
Eleven days elapsed since Jesús de Miguel collided with goalkeeper Jesús Owono on the pitch at Heliodoro Rodríguez López. Andorra returned to LaLiga Hypermotion to face Almería, but entered the fixture without official word regarding pending suspensions for three players.
Owono received a red card for his challenge on De Miguel, while teammate Lautaro de León was dismissed following a second yellow card. Efe Akman faced a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. Yet none of the three players received official resolutions for their respective disciplinary files prior to the fixture.
Pique addressed the delay in a video published on his social channels, directing his comments straight at the governing body. “I want to send this video, and it is a constructive criticism, so you can see what situation we find ourselves in right now as a club,” Pique said.
“This match happened two weeks ago, we play tomorrow and still today, the day before the match, we have no record or notification of any kind that these players are sanctioned by the federation,” Pique said. “That is to say, all three could play tomorrow.”
Despite the lack of official paperwork, Owono did not travel to Almería because he had not yet rejoined training sessions. Akman and Lautaro both traveled with the squad for the fixture against the league leaders.
Pique attempted to resolve the administrative standstill through direct communication with RFEF president Rafael Louzán. “I have called the president of the federation to inform him of this situation and I am waiting for him to tell me something, but we have tried it in every possible way, through all possible channels,” Pique said.
The uncertainty affected the team's chances, given the strength of the upcoming opponent. Andorra faced a demanding test away against the division leaders.
“If they do not play this match and they tell us that they could have played it, afterwards they are going to sanction us for another match,” Pique said.
Andorra prepared for the away fixture at Almería while awaiting final clarification from disciplinary committees regarding the squad availability of Akman and Lautaro.
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