Pique slams referee after Barca loss

Gerard Pique was furious with the refereeing during Barcelona's 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey. He felt his team was perhaps denied two spot-kicks at San Mames on Thursday.

The Copa Del Rey fixture was an acrimonious affair.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique slammed the referee after his side's 2-1 > loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. First-half goals from Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams saw Bilbao, which would finish with nine men, claim its win at home in the last-16 first leg.

> Read: Luis Enrique praises Barca after narrow loss

But Barca was denied a penalty to Neymar, while Aduriz was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off by referee Fernandez Borbalan. Pique was furious and felt his team was perhaps denied two spot-kicks at San Mames on Thursday.

"I think it's a clear penalty [on Neymar]," he said, via Mundo Deportivo . "I think mine with the goalkeeper is another penalty, but we know how this works."

Calling on improvement from referees, Pique added: "We want to play football and not roulette."

A second-half Lionel Messi goal leaves Barca in a decent position ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Pique is confident his team can still advance to the quarterfinals, saying: "The result is a result which leaves the tie wide open so let's see. I hope it will be a great occasion at Camp Nou."