Real Madrid to appeal Zidane suspension for coaching
Real Madrid will appeal a three-month suspension slapped on assistant B team coach Zinedine Zidane for not having the correct licence, the club said on Monday.
Real Madrid will appeal a three-month suspension slapped on assistant B team coach Zinedine Zidane for not having the correct licence, the club said on Monday.
The former Real and France midfielder was sanctioned by the Spanish football federation for allegedly acting as head coach of third tier Real Madrid Castilla even while Santiago Sanchez, who was also banned for three months, nominally held the post.
In a statement on their website (www.realmadrid.com), Real expressed their "absolute disagreement with the decision" and said they would "pursue every available legal avenue so that this decision is overturned".
"Not least because Zinedine Zidane has been authorised by the French football federation (FFF) to work as a head coach in the category Real Madrid Castilla currently play in, as the certificate issued by the federation from Oct. 2014 states," they added.
A World Cup winner with France in 1998, when he scored two goals in the final against Brazil, Zidane played for Real from 2001 until his retirement in 2006.
The 42-year-old also netted a spectacular volley for Real to win the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Castilla were relegated from the second division last season, before Zidane joined the coaching staff. They are currently 14th in Group 2 of the regional four-group "Segunda B", or third tier.
