Real Betis sack coach Rubi, announce replacement

Real Betis announced on Sunday they had replaced coach Joan Francesc Ferrer, known as “Rubi”, with the club’s sports director Alexis Trujillo.

Betis have drawn once and lost twice in three games since the Spanish top flight resumed, and fell 1-0 at Bilbao on Saturday, leaving the club 14th in the 20-team table, eight points clear of the relegation places with eight matches to play.

The club said in a statement posted on their website early on Sunday that they had made the decision to fire Rubi late on Saturday evening.

The statement said Trujillo, a 54-year-old former midfielder who captained Betis and played more than 220 games for the club, had been appointed until the end of the season.

Trujillo also took over as coach for the last two games of the 2016-17 season, drawing both games.

The club thanked Rubi and his assistants.

The 50 year-old Catalan arrived at Betis from Espanyol at the start of the season on a three-year contract.