Real Madrid’s sporting director Emilio Butragueno says nobody at the club was informed of Denis Cheryshev’s suspension before he was named in the starting line up of the Copa del Rey tie against Cadiz.
The Russian winger scored in the 3-1 on Wednesday night but during the game it emerged that he should have not been playing. The 24-year-old picked up three yellow cards in last season’s competition, earning himself a compulsory one-game ban.
He had not served that suspension before taking to the field and his inclusion could see Los Blancos thrown out of the competition after Cadiz lodged and official complaint. Real will try their best to appeal any severe sanctions, but Osasuna did the same thing earlier this campaign and were thrown out.
Speaking after the debacle, Butragueno said he wasn’t seeking to blame anyone but revealed no one from the Spanish federation had warned them of the winger’s suspension.
“The club were not notified about the sanction. We did not receive any form of notification from the Federation or from Villarreal and nor was the player informed about the circumstances,” he said.
And he continued: “This is not about looking for someone to take the blame. We are going to wait and see what happens. There is an article, 41 of the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Code, it states that the possible sanction will not take effect if the interested party is not notified personally and the player was not notified. That is why Cheryshev was playing.
“I spoke to the Federation tonight and we will see what happens over the coming hours. The ruling will be made on Friday and our legal representatives will have something to say. We can say little more, tell the truth about what happened, be cautious and careful. We have talked over the course of the night at the club with everyone involved and there is no record”.
