Real Madrid's presidential elections descended into farce on Sunday evening as Ramon Calderon was left waiting to be confirmed as the club's new president.
The Real board confirmed that Calderon had pipped Juan Palacios to receive the most votes in Sunday's election, and he was then congratulated by some of the other four candidates.
But the club announced they could not ratify Calderon as the new president due to a debate over postal votes.
Juan Miguel Villar Mir, one of the other three candidates, is believed to have questioned a legal ruling last Friday that disallowed postal votes.
The club confirmed that Calderon had earned 8,344 votes to 8,098 for Palacios in Sunday's ballot, so the election could hinge on the postal votes with 8,000 having been posted.
The Real board has therefore appointed the head of Madrid's law society to produce a report on Monday to determine whether the postal votes should also be taken into consideration.
'This is madness, it's a disgrace how this has been done,' said Calderon, a 55-year-old lawyer who has been a club executive since 2002.
'It's not up to the standard of a great club like Real Madrid.
'The board have had these results for the past two hours, and as a lawyer, I cannot understand their decision tonight.'
Should the independent lawyers rule in favour of Villar Mir, who came third in Sunday's poll with 6,702 votes, then the decision could be delayed for a number of days so that the postal votes can be counted.
With just 20 days to go until the start of pre-season training and a new head coach yet to be appointed, then that is sure to disrupt the team's preparations for the new season.
Calderon has named Kaka (AC Milan), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) and Arjen Robben (Chelsea) as his prime transfer targets, should he be appointed, while Juventus chief Fabio Capello is his preferred choice as coach.
