Why Cheryshev is eligible to play in the Copa del Rey

One of the first things which Valencia did on Tuesday morning was contact the Spanish Football Federation to find out exactly where new signing Denis Cheryshev stands regarding the Copa del Rey – whether the player had served the one-match suspension with Real Madrid or if he was Cup-tied from the competition after having appeared for another club.

The RFEF confirmed that Cheryshev is eligible to play in tomorrow’s semi-final first leg against Barcelona at Camp Nou and that the player had completed his suspension in the infamous Round of 32 tie against Cádiz for which Madrid were disqualified from the tournament after breaching the rules on fielding banned players.

Nor is Cheryshev Cup-tied for having already played in the competition with another club. The rule no longer exists after regulations were modified when Primera División clubs started to enter the tournament at the Round of 32 stage. Teams entering from the top division only take part in one round in December - only a few days before the winter transfer window opens, meaning it makes little sense to cup-tie a player.

Valencia have also complied with all of the other prerequisites – Cheryshev is fully registered with the RFEF, the tournament organizers, and he has a squad number – 24.