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Real Madrid out of Copa del Rey

Dani Martin's 37th-minute equalizer gave Real Betis a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid on Thursday and eliminated the Spanish powerhouse from the Copa del Rey.

Madrid, which led at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium following Robinho's fifth-minute goal, exited the competition on away goals as last week's first leg of the fifth round meeting ended without a score.

Betis advanced into the quarterfinals while Madrid, which hasn't won Spain's knockout competition since 1993, was knocked out again.

Betis, in 18th place in the 20-team first division, will join FC Barcelona, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Deportivo la Coruna, Getafe, Osasuna and second-division Valladolid in the last eight.

The game was twice halted briefly for crowd trouble in the final moments.

After a header by Madrid defender Ivan Helguera that apparently scored a goal was ruled offside, the linesman who flagged the offense was hit on the shoulder by a plastic bottle thrown from the crowd.

The game again was stopped by the referee in injury time when a mobile phone was thrown onto the field.

A touchline clash between both teams moments later also resulted in a short stoppage just before the final whistle.

Robinho gave Madrid the lead by taking advantage of slack marking to fire home after Jose Antonio Reyes had taken a swift corner. The goal was the Brazil forward's first since Oct. 28.

Betis gave Madrid a scare in the 34th when Juan "Melli Andreu's free kick was deflected onto the bar by goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

Three minutes later, Dani ran in to nod the visitors' equalizer after Francisco Jose Maldonado had left Lopez stranded by heading the ball across the goal.

With Betis in position to advance, Madrid didn't threaten until the closing stages when defender Sergio Ramos twice just missed with headers.

Madrid's defeat added to an already tough week for the club, whose president Ramon Calderon was forced to apologize after criticizing David Beckham and the rest of the team two days earlier.

Beckham, who may not play for the club again after announcing a week ago that he would join Los Angeles Galaxy in August, was described as a Hollywood movie-star hopeful by Calderon, who added that Madrid's players were vain and egotistical.

Ronaldo and Antonio Cassano, who have been declared by the club as surplus, also were omitted from Thursday's roster, while seven other players were missing with injuries including captain Raul Gonzalez and left back Roberto Carlos.
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