On the grill: Why Real Madrid will probably be kicked out of Copa del Rey

From an inability to sign a 'keeper before the closure of the summer transfer window, to reported irregularities in the signing of its underage players, to the fielding of an eligible player, incompetence knows no bounds at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid's Copa del Rey fixture at Cadiz on Wednesday served as another example of Los Blancos' lack of professionalism, as the club is set to be kicked out of the competition for fielding Denis Cheryshev, who was ineligible to take the pitch.

Some, such as Gerard Pique of Barcelona, couldn't contain their laughter upon hearing Real Madrid's screw-up.

Others, however, treated Real Madrid's fielding of Cheryshev with scepticism, questioning how exactly the club violated the disciplinary code of the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF) and wondering if Rafa Benitez's side will actually be booted from the Copa del Rey before the second leg of its tie against Cadiz.

So, in an attempt to clear up any confusion, here are the answers to a few of the questions that address why Real Madrid will probably be sent packing.

Why was Cheryshev ineligible to play in the first place?

In the semifinals of the 2014-15 Copa del Rey, Cheryshev, then featuring at Villarreal, picked up his third yellow card of the competition. The accumulation of three yellow cards means a player must serve a one-match suspension.

However, since Cheryshev's third yellow card came in Villarreal's final game of the 2014-15 Copa del Rey, he never served the suspension and should have missed Real Madrid's fixture at Cadiz since it was the first match for which he was eligible in the 2015-16 Copa del Rey.

Here's a document the RFEF published March 6, 2015, two days after Cheryshev earned his third yellow card, confirming his suspension.

How the hell did Real Madrid not realise Cheryshev was ineligible to play?

That's a good question, and you can bet Real Madrid will be quick to find a scapegoat for the lapse of judgment.

Emilio Butragueno, Real Madrid's director of international relations, is already attempting to deflect the blame away from the club, as he pointed to Article 41 of the RFEF's disciplinary code after the final whistle, saying: "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."

As Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC points out, such a defence will likely fall upon deaf ears, as Cheryshev's suspension was published on the Internet.

Does Real Madrid have any other defences?

Not really.

Real Madrid will likely also bring up Article 112 of the RFEF's disciplinary code, which states all yellow cards are cancelled after the Copy del Rey's third round, and the club was visiting Cadiz in the fourth round. Don't expect that defence to get anywhere, though, as nowhere does it say suspensions are chalked off the board after the third round.

Why can we be so sure Real Madrid will be booted from the Copa del Rey?

I'll let Marca handle this one, as the Spanish daily did a phenomenal job of translating Article 76 of the RFEF's disciplinary code.

Any club fielding a footballer who is ineligible or does not meet the regulatory requirements necessary to take part in a match, will forfeit said match, and the opponent will be declared the winner with a result of 3-0, unless they already won the game with a better score and the competition was to be decided on points, in which case the original score would stand. If it is a knockout competition the tie will be decided in the opponent's favour. If this is the case, and there is still a second leg to be played at the opponent's stadium, the guilty party will compensate the opposition to the sum of its average revenue over the past two cup campaigns.

In other words, because Real Madrid's violation took place in a Copa del Rey tie rather than in La Liga, Cadiz will automatically advance to the competition's next round.

Has a club been kicked out of the Copa del Rey before?

Osasuna was actually kicked out of the Copa del Rey in September for doing exactly what Real Madrid did.

After fielding an ineligible player in its tie against Mirandes just under three months ago, Osasuna's participation in the competition ended abruptly, as the RFEF responded by citing Article 76 of its disciplinary code. If Spanish football's governing body doesn't respond the same way after Real Madrid's violation, there will surely be backlash across the Iberian Peninsula.