DANI CARVAJAL is facing a Uefa probe into whether he deliberately forced a booking to get himself banned from a Champions League game.
Real Madrid star Carvajal was shown a yellow card in the last minute of Tuesday's 6-0 win over Apoel Nicosia.
That caution means the defender will miss the final group stage match against Borussia Dortmund through suspension - a match that is now a dead rubber.
It also means the 25-year-old will have no threat of suspension hanging over his head by the time Real take part in the knock-out stages in the new year.
But Uefa have now announced they have opened a disciplinary investigation into the way Carvajal got himself booked - fearing he deliberately got himself into trouble.
Article 15 of the disciplinary regulations cover the conduct of players on the pitch, and European officials have decided he may have infringed them by getting booked to get the ban out of the way.
They are investigating whether Carvajal set out to get the yellow card as he excessively delayed the taking of a throw-in in the last minute of the game.
Uefa have announced they will rule on their inquiry at their Control Ethics and Disciplinary Committee hearing on December 7.
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If found guilty, the Spanish international could find himself hit with additional match suspensions which would then impact on Real's plans for the last-16 round.
It is not the first time Uefa have looked into such actions by a player - last year Barcelona star Gerard Pique was also investigated for a similar offence in a last-16 clash with Arsenal with the tie already won.
On that occasion Pique was cleared of any wrong-doing and was free to continue playing for Barca.
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne is another player who will miss a dead rubber group stage match through suspension.
De Bruyne was shown a yellow card after an hour of last night's 1-0 win over Feyenoord, four minutes before he was substituted.
The influential playmaker will now not be available to make the long trip to Ukraine for City's final group match with Shaktar Donetsk.