Real Madrid have been expelled from the Copa del Rey after they fielded the ineligible Denis Cheryshev in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Cadiz.
The Russian winger picked up three yellow cards in the competition last season while on loan at Villarreal - the third in the semi-final defeat to Barcelona - and was supposed to be suspended for the first game of this season’s Copa.
However, Madrid did not realise and Rafael Benitez, taking advantage of his squad, played him from the start against the third division side.
Cheryshev opened the scoring, but was taken off 45 second into the second half as word spread that he was not eligible to play.
Cadiz confirmed on Wednesday they had made a complaint to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) regarding Cheryshev’s involvement.
And Spanish football's governing body has confirmed that the club have been excluded from the tournament and handed a fine.
"Real Madrid have been found guilty of fielding an ineligible player, Denis Cheryshev, in the home match against Cadiz on December 2," a statement read.
"The outcome of the Copa del Rey [tie] has consequently been decided in favour of Cadiz, with an additional fine of €6,001 for Madrid as per article 76 of the disciplinary code of the RFEF.
"Cheryshev's one-match suspension has been served in the game in question.
"This decision can be appealed with the Appeals Committee within 10 days of the notification of the verdict."
Madrid are now likely to appeal the decision and fight for their right to remain in the Copa del Rey, as president Florentino Perez suggested they would do during a press conference on Thursday evening.
"Madrid have not named an ineligible player. This is the opinion after consulting the legal services of Real Madrid.
"After analysing what happened, the penalty for three yellow cards should not be considered effective because nobody told the player of his punishment, as stated in Article 41 [of competition regulations].
"The sanction is not effective, and even if it were, we believe it would be considered void with the application of the final paragraph of section 12: 'At the end of the third round of the Copa del Rey, there will be a complete cancelling of penalty cycles for all concerned'.
"The penalty Cheryshev was given while playing for Villarreal is ineffective in our view, no one had mentioned the sanction to the player’” the Madrid president said.
"As Article 41 of the RFEF's disciplinary code states, the punishment is not effective unless it notifies those to be punished.
"Real Madrid did not know of its existence, no one reported it - neither the player nor Villarreal nor the RFEF."
The club’s first move will be to take it to the Appeals Committee, with the option to then take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if they are knocked back.
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