Piqué to miss La Liga debut; could be banned four games for referee insults

Gerard Piqué's insults to the assistant referee during the Spanish Supercup could mean a bigger punishment than just a red card.

At the begining of the second half of Monday's 1-1 draw, the Barcelona star center-back complained about a missed offside call by the assistant referee. According to the linesman, Piqué got so mad he said: "I sh*t on your f***ing mother!", which crossed the line so much that it led to a red card.

Because this was a domestic competition, the Spanish Federation uses the same criteria as England: the one-game automatic ban is due on the next domestic game, regardless of tournament. That means Piqué will miss Barça's debut in La Liga, which is a third straight date with Athletic Bilbao, Sunday at San Mamés.

However, the LFP will do further investigation on the issue, and there is a chance Piqué gets a four-match ban for his actions, which is the maximum punishment for insulting a referee. If this happens, the Spanish international will miss the first three league games of the season.

We'll have further info as this develops.