Bernd Schuster caused controversy by travelling to Salamanca instead of returning to Madrid from Valladolid at the weekend and could now be sacked before he returns, a report states.
The German coach gave his struggling squad two days off after their latest setback and himself chose not to attend a voluntary training session as he decided he needed a break, according to AS.
Madrid's defeat against Real Valladolid on Saturday was predicted to be the final straw by many and as soon as sporting director Predrag Mijatovic and technical secretary MIguel Ángel Portugal can find a replacement he could be removed.
That is how AS view the current situation as they followed the German coach to Salamanca, about 200 kilometres west of Madrid, where he was attending a baptism for his daughter Victoria.
While the paper may have an agenda given Schuster's strained relationship with the press, for which he has been warned on several occasions by the club, there is no doubt that he is under intense pressure.
Such a family event would not hint at the coach suddenly deciding to escape the problems in the Spanish capital, but the paper has siezed upon the chance to show Schuster in an uncaring light.
The players were told they could attend training voluntarily on Sunday, as is normal practice after any game, while the two days off could provide rest for those not on international duty.
Madrid's directors, with Mijatovic in particular, will want to be seen to be acting amid the current turmoil, dubbed a crisis by the Spanish media, to save the spotlight turning on himself.
Successive defeats by Juventus in the Champions League, coupled with an embarrassing Copa del Rey exit at the hands of third tier Real Unión and stuttering league form, has meant that someone must be seen to be blamed.
President Ramón Calderón is one of only two people on the board that AS states supports the coach and is the reason that he is still in place, but how long he can hold out remains to be seen.
If Schuster did not inform the club that he would be attending a family event in Salamanca, where his partner Elena is from, it could only hasten the calls for him to go.