Gerard Pique has lashed out at the tactics employed by Athletic Bilbao after Barcelona fell to a 2-1 first leg defeat in their Copa del Rey tie against their fellow La Liga side.
Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams fired the home side into a 2-0 half-time lead before Lionel Messi reduced the arrears seven minutes into the second half, but Bilbao held on to secure victory at the San Mames stadium on Thursday evening.
Bilbao finished the encounter with nine men after Raul Garcia and Ander Iturraspe Derteano were sent off in the closing stages of the round of 16 encounter, but Barcelona failed to take advantage of their superiority in numbers.
Speaking after the game (via ESPN), centre-back Pique criticised both Bilbao's rough tactics and referee Fernandez Borbalan for his handling of the match, with the latter refusing to hand the Catalan giants two penalties during the clash.
Pique said: "In the first half we weren't at our best and they took advantage of their chances. After that we improved and were better. If they've ended the game with nine men it's because they could only stop us through fouls. It's a shame we couldn't draw, but the tie is open. I'm optimistic.
"There's a clear penalty on Neymar and mine with the goalkeeper is a penalty, too, but, well, we know how this works. We want to play football and not roulette, which is what provokes these referees. We saw [Real] Madrid against Sevilla the other day. I hope [referees] improve their level."
Borbalan also drew a negative reaction from Pique's Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic, who said he believes that the match official would realise he had made mistakes during the match when he watched the game back.
The Croat added: "When the referee sees the game [again] I think he will realise he did not have his best night tonight. I don't like to talk about referees, but players have bad games, too."
Barcelona host Bilbao in the second leg of the cup tie at the Camp Nou on Wednesday 11 January, with a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs.
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