Spanish player protest

International Sports

Racing Santander protest forces Sociedad Copa del Rey call-off. Photo Credit: AFP PhotosRacing Santander players refused to play over unpaid wages and forced their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Sociedad to be abandoned.

They would not challenge for the ball after their home quarter-final second leg kicked off.

Sociedad won the first leg 3-1, with the winners set to face Barcelona.

The protest is expected to mean La Liga side Sociedad are awarded a place in the semi-finals of the Spanish competition.

Racing players released a joint statement on Monday announcing they would boycott the tie unless president Angel Lavin and his board stepped down.

The home side turned up and completed their warm-up but, after Sociedad kicked off, the Racing players stood arm in arm around the centre circle, with substitutes and coaching staff lining up in solidarity on the touchline.

Sociedad passed the ball between themselves in their own half for two minutes before kicking it out for a throw-in, at which point the referee signalled that the match was suspended.

Racing players say they have not been paid for several months.