Bernabeu to host King's Cup final

The final of the King's Cup will be held at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the second year in succession, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has announced.

The RFEF said that representatives of the four semi-finalists Barcelona, Getafe, Sevilla and Deportivo Coruna had agreed unanimously to accept Real Madrid's offer to host the final which will take place on June 23.

Each of the finalists will be given 30,000 tickets for their fans, with the remaining 15,000 being distributed through the RFEF.

Recreativo Huelva have sidelined defender Mario after the former Barcelona player told a Madrid radio station that he has agreed to sign a four-year deal with Primera Liga rivals Getafe at the end of the season.

The club, who are bidding for a place in Europe next season, said they had also opened a disciplinary inquiry into the behaviour of the 25-year-old who said he hoped Getafe would recruit coach Marcelino if Bernd Schuster did not remain in charge.

Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Aranburu has extended his contract with the club until 2011.

The 28-year-old, who came up through the youth ranks at Sociedad, said that he was delighted with his new deal but that the most important thing for the club was that they avoided relegation this season.

Osasuna midfielder Javad Nekounam has been given the all-clear to play again after recovering from a knee injury which he sustained at the end of last month.

The Iran international, who missed Thursday's 1-0 win over Sevilla in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final, has been one of Osasuna's most consistent players this season.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will be forced to field a weakened side when they host Ethiopia in their rearranged African Nations Cup qualifier in Kinshasa on Sunday.

The Congolese have only managed to secure the release of three of their European-based players for the Group 10 match, originally scheduled for last month.