Real duo dropped after altercation

Fernando Gago and Pedro Leon have been excluded from Real Madrid's side for the Spanish Cup semifinal against Sevilla on Wednesday after almost coming to blows at a training session, sports daily Marca reported.

The club said in a statement posted on its website the duo, along with midfielder Sergio Canales, were not part of the squad for the second leg against Sevilla for "technical reasons".
But a report on Marca's website claimed their exclusion is directly linked to an altercation during a closed door training session on Monday that began after Leon was victim of a vigourous challenge by Gago.

According to Marca the pair exchanged insults and the heated discussion continued in the dressing room where colleagues had to step in to prevent the altercation from escalating, according to Marca.

Real hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg, courtesy of Karim Benzema's goal, and hope to make home advantage count as they bid to end a run of two years without a trophy.