Following the controversy surrounding Russian midfielder Denis Cheryshev, Real Madrid's president held a press conference, denying the team tried to take advantage of the situation. According to Pérez, the Spanish Football Federation did not inform neither the team nor the player, which would leave any sanction against the team without an immediate effect.
"Real Madrid wasn't aware of any ban, no one notified us. The Spanish Federation clearly stipulates the need to inform the player in person, and since he wasn't notified, we believe there are no grounds to be kicked out of the tournament," Pérez stated.
The player scored the first goal against Cádiz, but was substituted once the news broke out prior to the start of the second half.
The president also denied the team's staff was negligent to inform about the situation, and even excused coach Rafa Benítez, who was involved in a matter such as this one back in the 2001-2002 season when he was Valencia's boss.
"We never received a report from the Spanish Federation with this information. There's no one to blame here, since not even Villarreal(the club where Cheryshev played last season) had a notion about it. Rafa Benítez isn't to blame as well, since he asked our delegates to be extra careful,"Pérez added.
Finally, Real Madrid's main man stated the club will fight for their right to keep playing the tournament, since their legal department revealed there's a good chance this matter will go overlooked.
"We analyzed the entire matter with our legal team, and we feel we need to defend ourselves. If the Court in charge of this case doesn't want to hear from us, we'll take our case to the CAS. We believe we're entitled to, since we were never forced to clarify such an issue in the past," Pérez concluded.
The second leg of this Copa del Rey tie is programmed to be played on December 16th, but that game may end up being cancelled.
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