Real Madrid may be disqualified from the 2015-16 Copa del Rey after it was discovered Denis Cheryshev, who started for Los Blancos in Wednesday's match against Cadiz, was ineligible to play.Cheryshev scored the opening goal but shouldn't have been on the pitch as he was still serving out a suspension from last season, per AS English. The Russian was yellow-carded on three occasions while on loan with Villarreal, which carries an automatic suspension.Los Merengues must have overlooked that fact and started the 24-year-old against Cadiz. The decision may see the Spanish giants get kicked out of the competition, as Osasuna suffered the same fate for a similar transgression last season, per Sport.According to Canal+ (h/t AS English), Borja Mayoral, who started on the bench, was also ineligible, as he picked up a red card in last year's final of the Copa del Rey Juvenil. ESPN FC's Dermot Corriganreported Cheryshey's name appeared on a list of players banned for this round:As shared by Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, the Cadiz supporters enjoyed taunting the visitors with their mistake while the first half played out:Manager Rafa Benitez was already under a lot of pressure after the 4-0 loss against Barcelona in November, and the Daily Mail's Pete Jenson even suggested he's already fighting to keep his job. He will be in even more trouble if the Spanish football federation decides to disqualify Los Blancos from the Copa del Rey, although there's no guarantee they will.To make matters worse, this wouldn't be the first time a team coached by Benitez was eliminated from the competition for fielding an ineligible player. As shared by Squawka's Colin Millar, he suffered the same fate when he was in charge of Valencia in 2001:After the match, Cadiz confirmed they will make an official complaint to the Spanish football federation, via Corrigan:Corrigan also shared a statement from Real Madrid staff member and former striker Emilio Butragueno, who claims Los Blancos cannot be punished:Given the fact Cadiz were fully aware Cheryshev was suspended, it's highly unlikely no one inside the Real Madrid organisation was notified.Cheryshev was substituted 30 seconds into the second half.Follow @ReverschPassRead more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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