Barça footballer Gerard Piqué's call for peaceful protests until the Catalan referendum on Sunday, followed by a "we will vote" has split opinion on social media. Many Catalans have interpreted it as a show of common sense, but others not so much. Many fans of the Spanish national team, angered by the famous player's tweet, have called for him to be deselected.
The hashtag #PiqueFueradelaSeleccion ("Piqué out of the team") quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, attracting all sorts of complaints and comments on the player's position.
He was warned and he was told. He's not booed for being from Barcelona, he's booed for being anti-Spanish. Nobody boos Iniesta for example.
Piqué wants independence, but when he has the possibility to earn money with Spain, then he plays for the team
If you hate the Spanish flag, don't defend it.
And then you'll wonder why they whistle at Piqué every time he plays with the Spanish team!
Piqué and all sportspeople who don't feel Spanish out of the team. Enough pro-independence hypocrisy.
If you don't feel Spanish and you're on the side of the radicals who rebuke and break the Law, we say it loud and clear: Piqué out of the team.
It's time to stop giving him money for something he doesn't feel!
If he were consistent, he should have left the team ages ago. Nobody boos him for being Catalan, Pau Gasol is an idol in the whole of Spain.
The team will not represent me again if Piqué is selected again.
Vote in your imaginary referendum, play the clown in your imaginary country, wear the shirt of your imaginary team.
The wish of many fans of the Spanish team will become a reality next summer anyway. Piqué, after an artificial controversy over shirt sleeves in a match against Albania, announced that he will leave the team after the 2018 Russia World Cup.