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Spain: Uproar from smaller clubs after Copa del Rey draw farce [Sat Aug 27th, 2005]
Madrid (Reuters) - The draw for the first round of the Copa del Rey took place amid uproar about the Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) decision to make a last-minute change to the format of the competition.
Club presidents from third and fourth division clubs delayed the start of the draw after complaining about the decision to exempt Primera Liga and second division sides from the first round.
The draw was originally meant to include teams from the top two divisions as well as those sides that had fought their way through the qualification rounds which would have ensured some lucrative ties for the more modest clubs.
In past seasons, high-profile sides such as Barcelona, Valencia and Villarreal have fallen victim to sides from the lower divisions in the opening round.
But the RFEF made an 11th-hour decision to modify the format for this year's competition after some behind-the-scenes bargaining with the Professional Football League (LFP).
As a result, the Cup will adopt a complex and confusing format whereby 20 of the 22 teams in the second division - Malaga B and Real Madrid B are not permitted to participate in the competition - will face each other in the first round in a series of one-off games.
The 11 first division sides with no involvement in Europe this season and the 24 third and fourth division teams that have come through the qualifying rounds will join in the second round in two-legged ties.
The big guns who play in European competition, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, will then be given an automatic place in the last 16.
First-round draw (all sides from the second division; ties scheduled to be played on August 31):
Albacete v Poli Ejido
Almeria v Numancia
Castellon v Lleida
Hercules v Tarragona
Levante v Eibar
Lorca v Ciudad Murcia
Murcia v Tenerife
Racing Ferrol v Sporting Gijon
Recreativo Huelva v Elche
Xerez v Valladolid
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