Cup tie halted after Sevilla coach hit by object

MADRID, Mar 1 (Reuters) The King's Cup quarter-final second leg between city rivals Real Betis and Sevilla was abandoned 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 had taken the lead 1-0 on aggregate when striker Frederic Kanoute fired home 12 minutes into the second half.

Video footage showed the Sevilla coach had been hit on the back of the head by what appeared to be a two-litre 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 rigour.

''We must stop incidents such as this or those that happened recently in Italy occurring again.'' CALLED OFF 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 quarter-final 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 Andalucian 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 arch-rival, Betis owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera in a seat just behind the Sevilla president.

Reuters DH RN0457