Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Gerard Pique row with Madrid 'not a problem' for Spain - Del Bosque

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says he does not see Gerard Pique's ongoing public spats with Real Madrid fans as a problem for the national team.

Pique, 28, has been whistled during Spain games over the last six months by Real Madrid leaning supporters who took initial offence at a joke made in June about Cristiano Ronaldo's 30th birthday party last January.

Del Bosque has regularly called on fans to stop whistling the Catalan centre-back during national games and told AS that he was not overly concerned about the atmosphere in the squad.

"It is a wound from the past which has not healed," Del Bosque said. "We will have to see when we are together whether it affects the good relationship and atmosphere that has always existed. At the moment I don't see it as a problem. Often it seems like people outside are trying to drive us apart."

Recently Pique became embroiled in a very public row with Madrid figures including defenders Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos, former player Guti, and current Real Sociedad midfielder Esteban Granero.

Pique tweeted his amusement as Madrid fielded ineligible player Denis Cheryshev in a Copa del Rey tie at third tier Cadiz, a mistake which has seen Rafa Benitez's side thrown out of this year's competition.

Guti, Ramos and Arbeloa all responded to the barb, with Pique then making comments some interpreted as insulting towards his former La Roja teammate Arbeloa, and ex-Madrid player Granero entering into the debate online with advice to "forget about your complexes and respect your superiors."

The social media exchange continued after Barca's Club World Cup victory on Sunday, with Pique tweeting "for my superiors" along with 26 trophies -- an apparent reference to the record number of competitions now won by his Barca teammates Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.

The local media in both Madrid and Barcelona has eagerly pounced on this supposed row, with some commentators wondering how it will affect Spain's preparations for next summer's European Championships in France, where Pique and Ramos are likely to both be key figures in the team.

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