Alonso slams referee for Huijsen red card in latest Real Madrid win
Los Blancos managed to pick up three more points this weekend, but at a cost.
Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the LaLiga season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday, though the match was overshadowed by controversy surrounding Dean Huijsen’s red card.
The defender was dismissed in the 32nd minute after referee Jesus Gil ruled that his challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.
At the time, Madrid were already ahead thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s early strike. Playing with 10 men for nearly an hour, Los Blancos were forced to dig deep at the Reale Arena.
Arda Guler extended the visitors’ advantage before the break, but Oyarzabal converted a second-half penalty to set up a tense finish.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Madrid held on to secure a fourth consecutive league win.
After the game, coach Xabi Alonso openly questioned the referee’s judgment. “For me, it was a yellow card,” Alonso said during his press conference. “[Eder] Militao was close. The ball wasn’t under control. There were still 40 metres to go.”
He added: “It’s my interpretation, the referee had another, and the VAR had another. I asked for an explanation and it didn’t convince me much, but let’s leave it there … Winning at Anoeta is always very difficult, and today it was even more difficult.”
Alonso described Huijsen as both “relieved” and “angry” after the final whistle. The coach admitted the defender’s foul was “avoidable,” but remained firm that a red card was too severe.
“When there are clear errors, I like VAR to intervene,” he continued. “I don’t want to make this a monologue about the referee … It conditioned the game a lot.”
The Madrid boss was seen in animated discussion with referee Gil after the match. “We talked about his interpretation,” Alonso explained. “It didn’t convince me much. But there it is, we can’t do anything. Let’s see if other explanations convince me.”
Goalscorer Mbappe, who now has four in LaLiga this campaign, acknowledged how much the sending-off changed the dynamic. “The red card changed the game a bit,” he told Real Madrid TV. “We suffered as a team, but we go home with the three points.”
Real Madrid TV later reported that the club is compiling a dossier of refereeing decisions from this season and last, which it intends to submit to FIFA in hopes of drawing attention to what they believe is a persistent issue.