Real Betis, Sevilla blamed for fuelling Cup tension

Spain's sports minister has accused the directors of Real Betis and Sevilla of inflammatory behaviour ahead of a King's Cup tie that was abandoned after Sevilla coach Juande Ramos was knocked unconscious by a bottle.

"It was a shameful incident," Jaime Lissavetzky told radio station Cadena Ser yesterday.

"In the days before the game certain individuals from the clubs generated a climate that meant the game could not take place in a normal atmosphere."

Ramos agreed with Lissavetzky saying that the two clubs had contributed to the tension that had led to Wednesday's incident.

"We added fuel to the fire," he told a news conference after being discharged from hospital.

"We are guilty of causing this situation and can't expect the people to attend the stadium like lambs when we have provoked them.

"We have to realise that that our words have a big impact and we must take more care."

The build-up to the latest Seville derby was dominated by public arguments between directors of the two clubs over whether or not Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido would be allowed in the VIP box at the Betis stadium.

After mediation by the Andalucian regional government, Betis finally allowed Del Nido to attend the match although a number of fans threw objects at him, one of which hit him on the nose, as he took his seat.

Former Betis coach Ramos was hit on the back of the head by a large plastic bottle full of liquid thrown from the crowd as he celebrated his side's goal in their quarter-final, second leg at the Betis ground.

The match was abandoned with Sevilla leading the tie 1-0 on aggregate. Betis said yesterday they had identified the person who threw the bottle and had given his name to the police.

Eye witnesses said objects had been thrown at the Sevilla coach and his assistants throughout the match, while several Sevilla players were subjected to racial abuse.

"Everything was raining down on them, screws, bottles, lighters. It was terrible," one person told sports daily Marca.

The ambulance in which medical staff attended Ramos was hit by bottles thrown by Betis fans, some of whom chanted "Ramos die".

Daily El Pais reported that some 200 Sevilla fans set light to more than 60 rubbish bins and telephone booths when they were denied entry to the stadium.

Crowd problems

Matches between city rivals Sevilla and Betis are regularly marred by crowd problems.

In 1999 a knife was thrown at Betis midfielder Benjamin in the derby at the Sevilla stadium. Two seasons later a Sevilla fan ran on to the pitch in an attempt to attack Betis keeper Toni Prats and a security guard was admitted to hospital after being attacked by a fan who hit him repeatedly with a crutch.

The Betis-Sevilla match was not the only King's Cup tie to be marred by crowd problems on Wednesday.

Barcelona goalkeeper Albert Jorquera was hit by a plastic bottle full of liquid at the end of his side's 2-1 victory at Real Zaragoza, while a window on the Barca team bus was smashed by rival fans.

Lissavetzky compared the incidents to recent events in Italy in which a policeman was killed in rioting at the Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo.

"I don't want to scare people, but the example of Italy is very close," said Lissavetzky.

"Our problem now is what measures need to be taken to deal with these violent incidents. We have invested a lot of money in security and the stadiums are pretty safe but these incidents keep happening. They must be eradicated."