Real Madrid kicked out of Copa del Rey for fielding ineligible player
Real Madrid has been kicked out of the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player during the club’s match against Cadiz on Wednesday.
Winger Denis Cheryshev should have faced a one-game suspension after he accumulated three yellow cards in five matches on loan with Villarreal during the 2014 Copa del Rey. However, manager Rafael Benitez played Cheryshev on Wednesday, and he scored the first goal in the 3–1 victory for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid realized the mistake before halftime, and Cheryshev was taken out of the game.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said Thursday that the error was not the fault of the club because neither the club nor Cheryshev was informed of the suspension.
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“The one-match ban for three yellow cards in our view is not effective because no one has notified the player as specified in item 41.2 of the disciplinary code of the RFEF,” Perez said.
The competition judge confirmed on Friday that Cheryshev had not been personally notified of his ban, corroborating the team’s stance on the matter. “We at Real Madrid C.F. stand by our argument and will take the appropriate action to ensure that the final outcome is favourable for the club,” the team wrote in a statement.
Cheryshev also said that Villarreal did not notify him that he had been suspended from playing in the first game of the 2015 Copa del Rey.
