The Russian winger was fielded in Real Madrid’s first leg fixture against Cadiz on Wednesday, and scored for the Spanish club in their 3-1 victory. However, his appearance for Los Blancos raised eyebrows since he had not yet served his suspension after receiving three yellow cards last season while on loan at Villarreal.
Although Madrid insisted that they had not been informed that the player was ineligible to play in that particular fixture, Cadiz had already submitted an official complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federal immediately after the match.
Speaking to journalists after a board meeting held on Thursday, Madrid president Florentino Perez explained:
"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'.
"We don't believe anyone acted negligently. This is our conclusion. Cheryshev is calm. He played because he was convinced he was able to."
Perez also revealed that Real Madrid would appeal any sanction against them for fielding the ineligible player. The latest sanctions come at a time when the Spanish giants are still reeling from two defeats to bitter rivals Barcelona and Sevilla, which has left them struggling to catch up with the seemingly unstoppable Barcelona, who are top of the Premeira Division.
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