Pitch row latest controversy to mar King's Cup
The refusal of Hospitalet to move from their stadium to play their King's Cup tie against Deportivo Coruna is the latest incident to undermine the credibility of an increasingly beleaguered competition.
The refusal of Hospitalet to move from their stadium to play their King's Cup tie against Deportivo Coruna is the latest incident to undermine the credibility of an increasingly beleaguered competition.
The third division club, who normally play their home matches on an artificial pitch, rejected a Spanish football federation (RFEF) ruling that the home leg of their tie should be played on grass at Barcelona's Mini Estadi a few kilometres away from their ground.
"It was a surreal experience," said Deportivo coach Javier Irureta, whose side went straight through to the quarter-finals after a 30-minute warm-up at a deserted Mini Estadi.
"I never thought we would be travelling all the way to Barcelona just to train. It was a sad way to spend the night."
Hospitalet's will be a costly one. As well as automatic elimination from the Cup, regulations stipulate that they will be banned from next year's competition and face a fine of between $2,700 and $10,750.
They have also missed out on an estimated $269,000 in television rights, shirt sponsorship and gate money, a potential bonanza that few third division clubs are in a position to turn down.
Deportivo may even decide to compound their misery by suing for the costs of their futile trip to Barcelona and the lost gate money from the second leg.
It is not the first time that the King's Cup has been marred by controversy.
Two seasons ago Barcelona were thrown out of the competition after they refused to play the second leg of a semifinal against Atletico Madrid, claiming they had too few players as a result of injuries and international call-ups to field a full side.
The Catalan club, also fined $10,500, were later reinstated after a pardon by Federation president Angel Maria Villar.
The latest incident is now likely to spark debate about the wisdom of a federation ruling that gives sides the option of refusing to play their Cup games on the artificial surfaces used by some third division teams.
Hospitalet argued that the federation's stance unfairly penalises the smaller clubs who play their league matches on artificial surfaces.
The third division side have received backing from Joan Gaspart, the president of near neighbours Barcelona.
"We are in the 21st century and we have to allow games to be played on pitches like the Hospitalet one," he said.
The attitude of Real Madrid has also added weight to Hospitalet's stance. The league champions agreed to play their first two matches in the competition against sides from the Canary islands on their artificial surfaces.
Rule book in hand there is no doubt that Deportivo were perfectly within their rights to insist on a change of venue.
But with the possibility that some of the games in the 2006 World Cup may be played on artificial surfaces the Federation are in danger of looking outdated.
This season's competition has already been criticised for its mish-mash of formats and complex draw regulations.