Real Madrid Football club have been thrown out of the Kings Cup after they used an ineligible player in wednesdays king Cup first leg match at third-tier Cadiz, Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported on Friday.
Real included Denis Cheryshev in their starting lineup for the match and the Russia forward opened the scoring in his side’s 3-1 victory, even though he should have been serving a one-match suspension.
It was the fourth-round tie and Denis was suspended after picking up a third yellow card in the semi-finals of last season’s competition when on loan at Villarreal and scored Real’s first goal.
Cheryshev was withdrawn from the action moments after half-time when Real had realised their error, with head coach Rafael Benitez saying they wanted to “show good faith”.
Cadena Ser, which did not identify the source of its information, said the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) had told Cadiz of the decision to expel Real, who had said they would appeal if they were thrown out of the competition.
