World Football

SANTIAGO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Cobreloa have threatened to boycott their Chilean championship quarter-final against Universidad de Chile on Saturday in protest at the timing of the fixture.

The Desert Foxes reached the last eight by beating defending champions Everton 3-1 away in a repechage match on Wednesday night while their opponents, who went through directly from the qualifying stage, have had the whole week free.

Cobreloa's outspoken coach Marco Antonio Figueroa demanded the game be switched from Saturday afternoon to Sunday.

"Cobreloa will not turn up on Saturday if the game is not on Sunday," Figueroa told reporters.

"It's not right that they try to take advantage of something like this," added Figueroa, who earlier this year lambasted the standards in Chilean football and complained that the players did not like training.

"They have to respect the players and the spectacle. If they want to beat Cobreloa, they should do it on the pitch."

Cobreloa vice-president Sebastian Vivaldi backed the coach's threat.

"It's inhumane to make us play 48 hours after the last game and it's a big advantage for Universidad," he said.

(Reporting by Claudio Cerda; writing by Brian Homewood; editing by Miles Evans)