The dispute over Catalonia’s independence referendum has spilled over into Spain’s national football team.

La Roja now face two decisive World Cup qualifiers while engulfed by unwanted talks about politics. At the centre of it all is veteran defender Gerard Pique, the outspoken Barcelona player who has strongly defended the Catalans.

His criticism of the Spanish government’s brutal crackdown on voters and peaceful protesters has polarised fans and attracted some unwanted attention to the national team.

He was harassed by fans at Spain’s training camp in Madrid on Monday, disrupting the team’s first practice session ahead of tomorrow’s match against Albania.

“It’s difficult because nobody likes when people are against you,” Pique said yesterday. “I’m here to try to put this situation in the past. Regardless of what I think, with respect and common sense, I think that we can reach common ground.”

No matter how much Spain coach Julen Lopetegui and the other players have tried to avoid the subject, it keeps coming back.

“It’s a pity because we came here to play football, and we haven’t been able to talk about Albania or Israel,” Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara said.

Spain can close in a World Cup spot with a victory against Albania in the south-eastern city of Alicante, where Pique will certainly be loudly jeered by the Spanish fans.

He is often booed by crowds when Spain play outside of Catalonia, and this time it should happen even more intensely because of the recent incidents.

Lopetegui made a plea to the “great fans” of Alicante, asking them to focus on supporting the team and not on jeering Pique.

Pique, who was in tears when he criticised police brutality against Catalans trying to vote on Sunday, said at the time that he would have no problem stepping aside from the national team if the coach or the Spanish federation saw him as a nuisance.

“I don’t want to leave through the back door,” Pique said at a news conference yesterday, admitting that he had considered leaving. “This is my family and I want to keep playing here.”

Lopetegui had praised Pique’s commitment, saying his “behaviour with the national team has always been very good” and there was no reason not to have him on the squad. But he also sent a clear message that the entire team had to be focused only on football despite the crisis.

Authorities said more than 890 civilians and about 430 members of the police force were injured across the autonomous north-eastern region during Sunday’s referendum, which the Spanish government said was unconstitutional.

It remains largely unclear what would happen to Pique’s future if Catalonia went ahead with its intention to declare independence unilaterally.

A Catalonia national team have played in occasional friendly matches, including against Argentina and Brazil. At one point they were coached by the late Dutch great Johan Cruyff.

Other Catalans in the national team include Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

“It’s been a difficult week in every way,” Busquets told local radio. “We try to do everything as normally as possible, but it’s obvious that we are aware of what has been happening around us. It’s obvious that it gets to us.”