West Ham and former Spain manager Julen Lopetegui ‘indignant’ at Gerard Pique comments

Former Spain manager and current West Ham United coach Julen Lopetegui has not responded kindly to Barcelona icon Gerard Pique's comments. The former Spain centre-back claimed Lopetegui had asked him to publicly apologize to the country.

Pique revealed this weekend that Lopetegui and then Spain captain Sergio Ramos had asked him to read a statement apologizing to the country after the 2017 1-O referendum in Catalonia, which was illegal but ended when Spanish police peacefully protests were suppressed.

According to Cadena SER, Lopetegui is furious about the comments and assures that the facts are distorted and exaggerated. The ex-Seville man did not appear on the radio station, but instead privately told the channel that there were witnesses to this event and that he was simply giving ideas on how the situation could be handled.

Lopetegui's statements would of course carry more weight if he himself publicly discussed the matter, but there are two sides to every story. Given the details provided by Pique, it seems unlikely that the situation has been misinterpreted. Either way, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of whichever side is right.