The head coach of Barcelona Luis Enrique is not satisfied with his team's center-back Gerard Pique's comments about the referees' work and urges to control emotions. On Thursday, the Catalans fought against Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the King's Cup quarterfinals. The Basques won the match 2-1, but after the game, criticism was directed at the referee, who not only did not award an obvious penalty for Neymar but also sent off two Athletic players. G. Pique hinted at a conspiracy after the match, stating that the Spanish Federation is subservient to Real Madrid: "We all know how it works." However, L. Enrique was not willing to agree with G. Pique and stated that the players should control their emotions, even though it is difficult to do so right after a match. "When you fail to achieve victory in matches that are important to you, it is normal for players to react emotionally," said the coach. "There were many incidents in the first half and the match was very tense, so there were various reactions." "Of course, players must control their emotions. I always know that we must be very careful when talking about the work of the referees and people from the football family. I want to say that we must draw a certain line that we cannot cross when talking about certain things," Enrique concluded. Barcelona will face another test in Spain today - a match against Villarreal in La Liga.
