Vicente del Bosque insists the Spain boos directed at Gerard Pique have not affected his squad or the defender’s place in the team.
The stopper continues to be victimised for the anti-Real Madrid comments he made during Barcelona’s treble celebrations in June and his support for Catalan independence, but the Coach rubbished any notion of discord in La Roja’s dressing room.
“[Pique isn’t sick of the situation] because he’s someone who trains well and doesn’t pay attention to it,” he told Marca.
“He’s not [a problem for the team] because if he was a problem or believed to be harmful, he wouldn’t be called up.
“There wouldn’t need to be an explanation. He wouldn’t be called up, period.
“[I’ve spoken to him about it] very little. I associate it to what happened with [Iker] Casillas when he booed by his own fans.
“I don’t give [the issue] much importance. The more yes or no to [Catalan] independence is mentioned, the worse.
“I don’t know [why he has been booed]. I prefer to speak as little as possible [about the topic].
“He’s been very happy in the national team since he was a youngster. This is a fact.”
