Madrid, Jan 16 (IANS): The Copa del Rey tie between local rivals Betis and Sevilla was halted and subsequently postponed after Sevilla midfielder Joan Jordan was hit by an object thrown from the stands.

The game was in its 40th minute on Saturday night, just after Nabil Fekir had equalised for Betis to make the score 1-1, when a bar hit the Sevilla midfielder on the head, leaving him dizzy and needing treatment.

After around five minutes, referee De Burgos Bengoetxea instructed the teams to go to their dressing rooms, while deliberations took place over what to do with representatives of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Around 40 minutes later, the decision was taken to suspend the game with the RFEF publishing a tweet "condemning every act of violence on the field of play", Xinhua reports. The press speculate that the remaining minutes of the game may be played on Sunday behind closed doors.

It is not the first time Betis fans have carried out an action like this with former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos getting hit by a bottle thrown from the stands in a derby played in the same Benito Villamarin Stadium in a Cup tie in 2007. An Athletic Club Bilbao keeper was hit in the head by a bottle thrown by a Betis fan in a match played in 2008.

In the last-16 games which were played on Saturday, Mallorca beat Espanyol 2-1, while Rayo Vallecano won 2-1 away to second division Girona and Cadiz knocked out second tier Sporting Gijon on penalties.