Ramos hit as Seville derby stopped

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MADRID, Spain -- The Spanish King's Cup quarterfinal second leg between city rivals Real Betis and Sevilla was abandoned on Wednesday when Sevilla coach Juande Ramos was hit by an object thrown from the crowd after his side scored a goal.

Ramos was carried off the pitch unconscious on a stretcher shortly after Sevilla took the lead 1-0 on aggregate when striker Frederic Kanoute fired home 12 minutes into the second half.

Onda Cero radio station said it had been given access to video images showing that the Sevilla coach had been hit on the head by a two-liter plastic bottle full of liquid thrown from the stands.

Medical staff told reporters that Ramos, who used to manage Betis, regained consciousness as he was put into an ambulance. Sevilla medical staff said the 52-year-old would spent the night in hospital under observation.

Spain's sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky said he would be calling for immediate action from the Spanish Football Federation.

"This was a shameful incident," Lissavetzky told Radio Marca. "We will be calling an emergency meeting of the Anti-violence Commission and will ask the Spanish Football Federation to deal with this with maximum rigor.

"We must stop incidents such as this or those that happened recently in Italy occurring again," he added.

The normal procedure in Spain when matches are called off is for the remaining minutes to be played at a later date.

Last season, the Cup quarterfinal second leg between Valencia and Deportivo Coruna was abandoned after a linesman was cut on the head by a coin thrown from the crowd. The remaining 46 minutes were played behind closed doors a week later.

The build-up to the Seville derby was dominated by arguments between 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 regional government, Betis finally allowed Del Nido to attend the match although a number of fans threw objects at him as he took his seat.

There was further controversy because Betis had placed a bronze bust of Del Nido's rival, Betis owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, in a seat behind the Sevilla president.

Barcelona scrape through

Meanwhile, Barcelona reached the semis on the away goals rule after a 2-1 win at Zaragoza. Barca looked to be facing an uphill battle after losing the first leg 1-0 at the Nou Camp, but they turned the tables in the space of a little over five minutes.

Midfielder Xavi put the Catalans ahead in the 19th minute when he slotted the ball low past keeper Cesar after exchanging a gleaming one-two with Rafael Marquez.

Six minutes later fellow-midfielder Andres Iniesta fired home a second after Cesar had blocked a shot from Lionel Messi following another neat interchange of passes.

Zaragoza were in further trouble midway through the second half when Argentine midfielder Andres D'Alessandro was dismissed for a light head-butt on fellow- countryman Messi.

Despite the setback, Zaragoza set up an exciting finish when defender Gerard Pique pulled a goal back after he got his foot to a free-kick from Pablo Aimar.

Getafe reached the semifinals for the first time ever despite a 1-0 defeat at Osasuna.

Trailing 3-0 after the first leg, Osasuna were given brief hope of a comeback when Argentine striker Bernardo Romeo headed home unopposed from three metres in the 16th minute.

But Bernd Schuster's side kept things tight for the remainder of the match to ease their way into the last four 3-1 on aggregate.

Deportivo, Cup winners in 1995 and 2002, earned their place in the semis after a 1-1 draw against second division leaders Valladolid gave them a 5-2 win on aggregate.

Defender Filipe put Depor ahead in the first half and Bulgarian striker Vladimir Manchev scored a late equaliser for Valladolid.

Both sides ended the game with 10 men. Depor had Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini sent off on the stroke of half-time after an exchange of words with the referee and Valladolid striker Victor was dismissed in injury time.

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