Barcelona's Gerard Pique Branded 'Arseh--e' by Spectators at Spain Training

The chaos surrounding Catalonia's referendum for independence on Sunday extended to Spain's national team training after fans attended and jeered pro-secession campaigner Gerard Pique.

Barcelona's star defender offered to quit the national team after hundreds were hurt attempting to vote in Sunday's ballot, per the Independent's Ed Malyon, while beIN Sports' David Cartlidge detailed the scenes at Spain's training base in Madrid:

Rather than take on a unified stance and encourage Pique to rethink his offer to leave, Malyon wrote that fans cried "son of a bitch" and chanted: "Pique, arseh--e, Spain is your country.... Pique, arseh--e, leave the national team."

The Catalan-born stalwart has long been a supporter of Catalan independence, and after welling up describing Sunday's violent scenes in his native Barcelona, Sport Witness showed how Pique has become the talk of Spain's sport pages:

Spain are scheduled to face Albania in Alicante on Friday in what will be their penultimate 2018 World Cup qualifier before travelling to Jerusalem for their last Group G matchup on Monday.

The reaction of some sections of Spain suggests politics is a priority over on-field results, as it would only be to the team's detriment if Pique were to quit international duty for manager Julen Lopetegui's side.

Because of the clashes on Sunday and in protest of La Liga's refusal to postpone the match, Barcelona played their home fixture against Las Palmas behind closed doors but still won the fixture 3-0.

Jonathan Viera was part of the Las Palmas team that suffered defeat at the hands of Pique and Co., but the midfield maestro encouraged supporters not to question the defender's commitment, via Goal:

Of course, it's worth noting that those who voiced their views at Spain's Madrid training base on Monday only represent one view on Pique's national team involvement.

Spain are currently three points clear of Italy at the summit of qualification Group G and can wrap up top spot if they beat Albania on Friday, making that home fixture of paramount importance for Lopetegui's men.