Real Madrid fail to get Copa del Rey expulsion suspended

Real Madrid have failed in a court appeal to get their Copa del Rey expulsion temporarily suspended while they await the outcome of their appeal.

The 19-time winners were thrown out of the competition for fielding suspended Denis Cheryshev in the first leg of their last-32 tie with Cadiz.

He scored in a 3-1 win, but was banned from a loan spell at Villarreal.

Real had still been hoping to play the second leg on Wednesday, but now accept this will not happen. 

Spain's administrative court for sport (TAD) ruled there were no grounds to suspend the decision of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) to expel Real, but is yet to decide on the appeal itself.

Real have already failed in an appeal to the RFEF.

Osasuna were thrown out of last season's competition for a similar offence.

Real's tweet announcing Cheryshev's goal has become a rallying point for rival fans and been retweeted 7,500 times.

Cadiz's fans at the game sang that Real boss Rafael Benitez should "look at his Twitter" as they became aware Cheryshev should have been serving a suspension.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique used the incident to poke fun at his club's great rivals, posting a message that included no words but several emojis and proved highly popular.