Real Madrid defender Marcelo could miss the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at Chelsea because he has been called up to monitor a polling station during local elections.

The elections for the Madrid assembly take place on Tuesday, 4 May.

Madrid, who were held 1-1 at home Santiago Bernabeu, play the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

The Spanish club are “analyzing the situation” to see if “any regulation will let him travel with the team”.

Unless Marcelo is let off from his election-day duties, he will not be permitted to travel with the team the day before the game.

Spanish Newspaper report the club had appealed to the Electoral Commission, but the request was rejected.

Why has Marcelo been called up?

All Spaniards on the electoral register can be called up to work at polling stations and are paid 65 euros (£56), needing mitigating circumstances to be excused.

Marcelo who is 32 years Old, was granted Spanish citizenship in 2011.

His predicament, while certainly one of the more unusual reasons to potentially miss out on a Champions League semi-final, is not unprecedented in Spanish football.

Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez was named on a reserve list to attend a polling station in his hometown of Mondragon in 2019, when on the same day he was due to play a match against Athletic Bilbao.

He, however, was allowed from polling duties and cleared to play.

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