Real Madrid Will Appeal To Huijsen's Red Card

Dean Huijsen (second from the left) received a red card when Real Madrid traveled to Real Sociedad (Instagram/@realmadrid) headquarters.

JAKARTA - Real Madrid will appeal against the controversial red card received by Dean Huijsen in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, September 13, 2025.

Huijsen received a straight red card in the 32nd minute at the Reale Arena for a foul on Mikel Oyarzabal. An interpretation from referee Jesus Gil that the striker was in front of goal and the centre-back was the last player.

Real Madrid are already 1-0 up thanks to Kylian Mbappe's first goal. Despite being under pressure with 10 players, they were able to win 2-1 at San Sebastian to win four wins from four games so far in La Liga.

Manager Xabi Alonso also said Huijsen should only receive a yellow card.

"(Eder) Militao almost scored. The ball was out of control. There were still 40 more meters. That's my interpretation, the referee has other interpretations, and VAR has other interpretations. I asked for an explanation and it didn't really convince me," said Alonso.

Launching ESPN, Real Madrid will now file an appeal for Huijsen's red card to be canceled and avoid suspension. You see, another centre-back, Antonio Rudiger, will be out for up to 12 weeks due to a muscle injury.

The club's internal TV channel Real Madrid TV announced after Saturday's match that Real Madrid had been compiling the referee's decision file over the past year, which they would send to FIFA for the world football body to record what happened in Spain.

"It defends our interests, it's legal, if the club does, I don't mind," Alonso said of the file on Monday, September 15, 2025, local time.

Real Madrid has long been a critic who has frequently criticized referee standards in La Liga. Real Madrid TV broadcast a video of alleged referee errors before and after the match. In fact, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has called for radical reforms.

This summer, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) made massive changes to the Referee Committee (CTA), including the new president and head of VAR - in a bid to deal with some of the criticisms.

The CTA has also begun releasing a weekly video analysis of the referee's controversial decision - with incidents selected by the panel of former coaches - in some cases, acknowledging mistakes.