Real, Barca bar W.Cup stars from awards ceremony

The coaches of Real Madrid and Barcelona said Friday they had barred their Spanish internationals from attending a ceremony at which they were to collect a special prize awarded to the World Cup winners.

Jose Mourinho and Josep Guardiola, both well-known for imposing discipline on their players, took the decisions as the ceremony comes on the eve of league matches.

“It’s non-negotiable,” Real’s Mourinho told a news conference.

“They cannot attend” the ceremony, even though “I know the award is very important,” Barca’s Guardiola told a separate news conference in Barcelona.

Spain’s 23-man World Cup-winning squad was last month awarded the country’s prestigious Prince of Asturias prize for sport.

The players are to formally receive the award at a ceremony in Oviedo, in the northern Spanish region of Asturias on October 23.

Five Real players are among those honoured: Spain captain Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa, Raul Albiol and Xabi Alonso, and eight from Barca: Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Sergi Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Pedro Rodriguez and David Villa.

But the day after the ceremony Real hosts Racing Santander and Barcelona travels to Zaragoza in league matches.

Eight Prince of Asturias awards are granted each year in categories including arts, literature, communications, sports and scientific research.

Named after Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe, they are presented each October in Oviedo in a ceremony broadcast live in Spanish television.

The Prince of Asturias prize for sport was awarded last year to Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva.

Past winners have also included Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal, Germany’s seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, retired US athletics legend Carl Lewis and US naturalised Czech-born tennis ace Martina Navratilova.