Inaki Williams has hit back at Gerard Pique's assertions that Barcelona do not benefit from refereeing decisions.
The Athletic Bilbao forward claimed that the reigning La Liga champions should be the last team to complain about having match officials give decisions against them, after Pique had lambasted two referees for failing to award Barcelona penalties in their recent encounters against Bilbao and Villarreal.
Speaking in a frank interview with Radio Marca, Williams was unapologetic in his answer when asked about the issue.
He said: "There are the last team who can complain because they are a big team and at the end of the day, there is always some favouritism.
"If I miss a one-on-one, then how are the referees not also going to get things wrong? They are human, just like the players. The referees have it very difficult and I don't like to protest so that the referees are not filled with doubt."
Centre-back Pique had accused referee David Fernandez Borbalan for refusing to give Barcelona two clear-cut spot kicks in their Copa del Rey first-leg defeat to Bilbao on January 5, and appeared to suggest that the men in the middle were biased towards fierce rivals Real Madrid in the process. The 28-year-old also tore into La Liga president Javier Tebas following his side's 1-1 draw with Villarreal three days later after another referee failed to give Luis Enrique's men a stonewall penalty for a handball offence by defender Bruno.
The ex-Manchester United man's comments have led the Technical Committee of Referees and the Royal Spanish Football Federation to open possible disciplinary charges against him - proceedings that could lead to bans for Pique.
Quizzed over the penalty incident itself from their victory over Barcelona last Thursday, Williams went on to state that, while he had seen the incident with a clear view, he could not verify whether the Blaugrana should have been awarded one.
He added: "From my position, I saw that it could have been a penalty but, if the referee doesn't give it, I turn away and clench a fist in celebration. On the other hand, Neymar can still shoot and maybe the referee thought that."
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The Referees' Technical Committee has filed two complaints against Gerard Pique for his comments after Athletic & Villarreal games. [SPORT]