MADRID — In a disciplinary decision released this Wednesday, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has handed former Spanish national team and FC Barcelona icon Gerard Piqué a six-match ban, following controversial comments he directed at match officials during a recent Segunda División fixture. Piqué, who owns FC Andorra, has also been barred from carrying out his duties as the club’s majority owner for a two-month period, penalties stemming from incidents that unfolded during Andorra’s 1-0 home defeat to Albacete on 1 May.
The disciplinary body has additionally levied a €1,500 ($1,762) fine against FC Andorra itself, and ordered the partial closure of the club’s stadium for two upcoming league matches. According to the official RFEF report documenting the exchange, Piqué told a match official: “In another country, they would tear you apart, but here in Andorra we are a civilized country.”
Piqué first acquired FC Andorra back in 2018 alongside a consortium of fellow investors, at a time when the small club — based in the tiny Pyrenean microstate wedged between Spain and France — was competing in Spain’s fifth tier of domestic soccer. Founded in 1942, the side had spent the vast majority of its 81-year history competing in the lower divisions of the Spanish football pyramid before Piqué’s takeover.
Under Piqué’s ownership, FC Andorra has climbed rapidly through the league system, securing promotion to the Segunda División in 2022. At the current stage of the 2023-2024 campaign, the club holds 10th position in the 22-team second-tier standings, a solid mid-table performance for a side that reached the professional ranks just two seasons ago. The disciplinary sanctions mark a rare high-profile disciplinary action against a high-profile club owner in Spanish football, bringing renewed attention to standards of conduct for club officials toward match officials.