Granada manager Paco Lopez cut a frustrated figure following his side’s 3-0 victory over Arosa in the Copa del Rey, as his side face a potential expulsion from the competition, noting that somebody at the club should have picked up on the issue.
Los Nazaries could be expelled from the Copa, after Arosa confirmed they would submit a complaint to the RFEF for fielding the ineligible Adri Lopez.
Following the match, Lopez told Relevo that was in the dark about the situation. The news that Lopez was ineligible during the first half of the match.
“I have no news, I know the same as you know. This is an administrative matter. We won the game, which was what we had to do. I don’t know who the situation corresponds to. Adri played in the Copa del Rey last season. And we went through the knockouts and there was nothing said at all. I have no idea. These things don’t apply to me.”
Last season Granada beat Yeclano with Adri Lopez on the pitch, but they decided not to complain about it. Paco Lopez had mentioned that the reserve goalkeeper would play in his pre-match press conference, but it was not picked up on.
“If they don’t tell us anything about the regulations… We know that we have to have seven professional players on the field and we have been careful with that. I also said that Adri Lopez was going to play. We had time to realise it…”
This of course is not the only case of an ineligible player knocking a team out of the competition. After Denys Cheryshev returned to Real Madrid from a loan move with a pending suspension in the Copa del Rey, Rafael Benitez played Cheryshev against Alcorcon. They won the match, but later were expelled for the presence of Cheryshev.
Arosa have noted that for them, it could be worth €50-60k if they get through to the next round. This would represent around 10% of their annual budget, which was set at €480k. Aside from wanting to get through, the financial incentive makes it worth their while.
