Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 9y

Government suspends Zinedine Zidane ban pending appeal

Zinedine Zidane will be able to take charge of Real Madrid Castilla's game at home to Rayo Vallecano B on Saturday, after the Spanish government's sports administration body temporarily suspended his ban pending the latest appeal by his club.

On Thursday the Spanish FA's appeals committee upheld the three-month ban imposed earlier this week on Zidane, who has been found guilty of taking charge of Madrid's B side, Castilla, without the required coaching badges.

On Friday, the club took a case to the Spanish government's Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte (TAD), which has ruled that Zidane can continue on the Castilla bench while another appeal into the punishment is weighed up.

Zidane has been coaching and selecting the Castilla side since the beginning of the current campaign, with the Frenchman officially listed as assistant to the more experienced Santiago Sanchez, as the former World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d'Or winner has yet to complete the UEFA Pro Licence.

The RFEF's disciplinary committee decided to take action over the apparent attempt to get around the rule book, after the situation was publicly criticised by other coaches including Rayo Vallecano's Paco Jemez.

However Madrid and the French FA (Federation Francaise de Football) both say the punishment is unjust as Zidane is currently studying for the Pro Licence and other former stars in similar situations have been given some leeway.

The Spanish authorities have stuck to their rigid line on the matter, and have also handed out a similar sentence to Sanchez for flouting the rules by dishonestly "lending" his licence to Zidane.

According to the latest RFEF judgement, which was reproduced in AS, the appeals committee had upheld the decision that Article 104 of the Spanish FA's Disciplinary Code has been clearly broken: "There are specific offences: Lend or transfer the title, or allow someone different to carry out the functions of coach, carry out the same, inside the club, with greater responsibility or at a higher level than agreed ... To coach with the title which does not correspond to that required or to do so without the licence."

Zidane had reportedly not attended Castilla sessions at Madrid's Valdedebas training centre since the ban was handed out last Monday. The club have made no public move to replace the Frenchman in the position, even on a short term or interim basis.

Granada coach Joaquin Caparros, whose side host Madrid's first team on Saturday in the Primera Division, appeared to back the decision to stick to the rules.

"[Zidane] needs to have the level three coaching badge as without that you cannot manage a team," Caparros said in AS.

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