Barcelona Deny Fielding Ineligible Lineup in Copa del Rey vs. Levante

Barcelona have denied reports they fielded an ineligible lineup in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie with Levante on Thursday, January 10, citing a rule change from November.

El Mundo (h/t Sport) pointed out Chumi played in that match, even though he was suspended with Barcelona B.

But according to Sport, Barcelona believe a rule change means only heavy suspensions carry across all Spanish competitions, whereas light suspensions are only applicable to the competition they were acquired in.

Levante have announced they plan on making a formal complaint, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

In 2015, Real Madrid were expelled from the tournament for something similar, with Denis Cheryshev playing in a last-32 match against Cadiz despite carrying a suspension from his time on loan with Villarreal. 

La Liga writer Rik Sharma provided more context:   

Levante shocked the Catalans in the first leg, winning 2-1 thanks to two goals inside the first 20 minutes. The second leg will be played at the Camp Nou on Thursday night.

The 19-year-old Chumi played just under an hour in defence before he was replaced by Clement Lenglet. Formerly of Deportivo La Coruna, he's been a regular for Barcelona B this season.

Barcelona's belief they did nothing wrong under the new rules seems justified. Real Madrid used the tweak to their own benefit earlier this month, playing Lucas Vazquez in the Copa del Rey against Leganes just days after he was sent off in La Liga against Real Sociedad. That "light" suspension did not carry over to the other domestic competition.

The rule change may have been a result of the Cheryshev situation. Per ESPN Corrigan the Russian scored in the 3-1 win over Cadiz that appeared to have led the team to the round of 16, but the Spanish football federation RFEF swiftly threw the club out of the competition.

Cadiz announced on Twitter they were aware of Cheryshev's suspension while the match was still going on, and the RFEF announced the sanctions just days after the contest.

A week has already passed between the first leg of the Barcelona-Levante tie, with no word from the parties involved until El Mundo's report came out.