Spanish Cup final to be held at Atletico
Reuters - Tuesday 06 March 2012, 14:57
The King's Cup final will be held
at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium after the Spanish football
federation (RFEF) rejected a request from finalists Barcelona
and Athletic Bilbao for it to be held at Real Madrid's much
bigger Bernabeu arena.
The RFEF's decision at a board meeting on Tuesday came after
several weeks of bickering over the venue for the May 25 match,
which Barca's arch-rivals Real declined to host saying they had
planned building work.
Media reports had speculated that Real, who beat Barcelona
in last season's final in Valencia, did not want Barca lifting a
trophy at their home ground.
The mayor of Bilbao was quoted as saying in local media that
Real's refusal was "shameful" while Barca, who knocked Real out
in the quarter-finals, opted not to send any representatives to
Tuesday's federation meeting in protest.
The Calderon holds just under 55,000, compared with the
Bernabeu's 85,000. Seville's Olympic Stadium, which holds around
60,000, was a second option for the final but federation board
members voted instead for the Calderon.