Real Madrid thrown out of Copa del Rey for fielding ineligible player

Real Madrid's Copa del Rey adventure is, unbelievably, over.

On Friday, two days after Real Madrid fielded Denis Cheryshev, though he was ineligible to play, in its fixture at Cadiz, the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF) kicked Los Blancos out of the competition and fined the club €6,001.

"Cheryshev was ineligible to play ... so the tie is resolved in favour of Cadiz," wrote the RFEF in a statement, as translated by the Guardian.

In the second leg of 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, and Real Madrid's game at Cadiz marked the first game for which the Russian attacking midfielder was eligible to serve the suspension.

After Cadiz filed a complaint with the RFEF on Thursday, Florentino Perez, Real Madrid's self-entitled president, held a press conference and announced that his club would oppose any sanction for fielding Cheryshev. He pointed to Article 41 of the RFEF's disciplinary code, which pertains to clubs receiving proper notification about sanctions, as well as Article 112, which says all yellow cards are wiped out after the Copa del Rey's third round.

Related: Florentino Perez says Real Madrid will oppose any sanction for fielding Denis Cheryshev

What Perez failed to acknowledge, however, is that the RFEF published the information regarding Cheryshev's suspension back in March, and nowhere does the disciplinary code say anything about suspensions being chalked off the board after the third round. It's also worth noting that Osasuna was kicked out of the Copa del Rey in September for fielding an ineligible player, setting an unfortunate precedent for Real Madrid.

Following the RFEF's decision, Real Madrid published a statement of its own, reaffirming Perez's reasoning and confirming that the club will take the steps necessary for a "favourable" resolution. Marca, meanwhile, reports that Real Madrid will appeal the decision to the RFEF's appeals committee before going to Spain's sport court.