Xabi Alonso Questions Referee’s Decision
Xabi Alonso, the Real Madrid coach, expressed skepticism regarding the referee’s rationale behind the sending off of defender Dean Huijsen during a tense 2-1 encounter against Real Sociedad on Saturday. Huijsen received a direct red card in the 32nd minute of play, a decision made by referee Jesus Gil, who deemed his challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal as a last-man foul. Until that point, Madrid had been leading the match with an early goal scored by star forward Kylian Mbappé. The dismissal forced the squad to compete with ten men for the remainder of the match, played at the Reale Arena.
Match Highlights
Adding to their lead, Arda Güler found the net before the halftime break. However, the tension mounted in the second half when Oyarzabal successfully converted a penalty kick in the 56th minute, which made for a nerve-racking finale as Madrid attempted to preserve their lead and ultimately achieved their fourth consecutive victory in La Liga.
Post-Match Reactions
In the post-match press conference, Alonso commented on Huijsen’s red card, suggesting it should have resulted in a yellow instead. He noted the proximity of teammate Eder Militao and remarked,
“The ball wasn’t under control. There were still 40 meters to go.”
Alonso’s dissatisfaction with the referee’s explanation was apparent, stating,
“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 challenging.”
The coach characterized Huijsen’s reaction—now facing two red cards since joining the team this summer—as mixed feelings of relief and anger following the match. Alonso acknowledged that while the defender’s foul was “avoidable,” he strongly disagreed with the severity of the punishment.
“When there are clear errors, I like VAR to intervene,”
Alonso asserted.
“I don’t want to make this a monologue about the referee … It conditioned the game a lot.”
After the final whistle, Alonso was seen engaging in an animated discussion with the match referee, further elaborating,
“We talked about his interpretation. It didn’t convince me much. But there it is, we can’t do anything. Let’s see if other explanations convince me.”
Player Insights and Club Response
Reflecting on the effect of the red card, Mbappé remarked to Real Madrid TV,
“The red card changed the game a bit. We suffered as a team, but we go home with the three points.”
In response to ongoing concerns regarding officiating standards, the club announced plans to compile a comprehensive report on refereeing decisions from this season and the previous year, which they intend to send to FIFA, urging action from the global football governing body. This follows Madrid’s consistent complaints about the quality of refereeing in La Liga over the past few seasons. In an attempt to address such grievances, the Spanish football federation recently revamped its refereeing committee and appointed new leadership to the VAR department.
