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MADRID, March 16 (Reuters) - Athletic Bilbao have demanded tough action to be taken after their goalkeeper Armando was hit in the face by a bottle thrown from the stands, causing their Primera Liga match at Real Betis to be abandoned.
The Basques were winning Saturday's game 2-1, having just gone ahead from the penalty spot, when a fan threw a small plastic bottle full of liquid from behind the goal which hit Armando as he went to retrieve a ball for a goal kick.
The keeper was taken off on a stretcher and had stitches for a cut just below his right eye, while referee Carlos Clos Gomez stopped the game with around 18 minutes left to play.
"Referees, assistants, coaches and now a player. How long can we go on allowing this kind of thing to happen?" Bilbao said in a statement on their Web site (www.athletic-club.net).
"It isn't right that we should leave it up to fortune as to whether or not our goalkeeper is left blinded. We cannot put the contestants at risk debating whether there should be a two or 120-match stadium ban. What hurts are the points.
"The Spanish league must not hold back. It is time to be European and to take drastic action."
After the match at Betis's Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium, Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros told reporters: "It's an atrocity. We have to stop these kinds of things happening, and there is a precedent from the Denmark game."
DENMARK PUNISHMENT
Caparros referred to the Euro 2008 qualifier between Denmark and Sweden in Copenhagen last June which was suspended in the 89th minute, with the scores level at 3-3, when a fan ran on the pitch to confront the referee.
UEFA later awarded Sweden a 3-0 victory, fined Denmark 50,000 Swiss francs ($41,490) and ordered them to play their next two home qualifiers at least 140 km (87 miles) away from the capital.
Betis condemned the incident on their Web site (www.realbetisbalompie.es) saying the aggressor had been caught by stadium security and was not a season-ticket holder. On Sunday they went on to ask for the game to be completed.
"Armando was a victim in all this but the great victim is Betis football club," the head of Betis's legal services Manuel Castano said in a statement.
"It is important to detail the actions of the fans in helping detain this individual. Because of this our fans should not be punished for an isolated incident and we have a right to play the final minutes of the game."
Both teams are involved in the battle to avoid relegation.
It is not the first time such an incident has occurred at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.
Last season, Sevilla coach Juande Ramos, now at Tottenham Hotspur, was knocked out after being hit by a bottle thrown from the stands during a King's Cup quarter-final match there.
That game was abandoned and the remaining 33 minutes played behind closed doors at Getafe's stadium while Betis were given a three-match stadium ban.
In December, Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was hit by an object thrown from the crowd during a league match at Bilbao's San Mames stadium. Bilbao were fined 600 euros ($799).
