Dean Huijsen Blasts La Liga Officials for Refusing to Overturn His Controversial Suspension

Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen expressed his anger and used social media to criticize Spanish football following the confirmation of his one-match ban.

Huijsen found himself at the center of a highly disputed red card incident during Real Madrid's latest La Liga match against Real Sociedad. The Spanish defender fouled Mikel Oyarzabal near the midfield line, prompting referee Gil Manzano to issue a direct red card, ruling it as preventing a clear scoring chance.

Video footage revealed that Huijsen was not the final defender. Éder Militão, positioned on the opposite side of the center circle, could have feasibly prevented Oyarzabal from having a clear path to goal.

In the days after the match, Spain's referee governing body, the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA)—which has implemented "Review Time" for the 2025–26 campaign—acknowledged through an official that Huijsen's foul warranted only a yellow card.

Real Madrid's initial attempt to overturn Huijsen's ban was rejected. Following CTA's admission that Huijsen's challenge didn't merit a red card, Los Blancos submitted a second appeal. However, this appeal was also denied, meaning the young defender will miss the Espanyol fixture.

This led Huijsen to voice his displeasure on social media, condemning the ruling and criticizing Spanish football as a whole through a detailed breakdown of events.

"First, Gil Manzano wrongly dismisses Huijsen. Second, VAR fails to intervene and permits this. Third, Real Madrid competes with ten men for two-thirds of the match. Fourth, CTA acknowledges an error occurred. Fifth, CTA sanctions Huijsen with a one-game ban after already admitting the mistake.

"The mistake has been acknowledged but I remain suspended, great representation for Spanish football," Huijsen posted sarcastically.

CTA maintains they cannot reverse Huijsen's ban since the incident leading to his dismissal remains subject to interpretation, according to MARCA.

With Antonio Rüdiger sidelined through injury and Huijsen banned, Raúl Asencio looks set to partner Militão in the starting lineup against Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu.