Controversy overshadowed Real Madrid’s 2–1 win at Anoeta on Saturday night. The flashpoint came in the 32nd minute when referee Gil Manzano showed Dean Huijsen a straight red card for a challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal.
The incident occurred when Huijsen made contact with Oyarzabal’s shoulder as the two players sprinted side by side. The Sociedad captain went down, and Manzano immediately judged the action to be a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity. What made the decision contentious was the positioning
of the rest of the defense: Eder Militao was in line with Huijsen, and both were still a significant distance from Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
The Real Madrid bench reacted furiously, with head coach Xabi Alonso receiving a yellow card for his protests. After the match, Alonso confronted Gil Manzano directly on the pitch.
“Jesus (Gil Manzano), I don’t want to, but you’re making me think badly, man,” Alonso told the referee. “Haven’t you seen that Militao is on the sidelines? But Militao is on the sidelines! He’s five meters from the play.” The coach concluded: “This one will go to the CTA, for sure. It will go on video, for sure.”
A video of the incident was posted by Managing Madrid’s Lucas Navarrete on X:
Alonso later expanded on his frustration in the post-match press conference:
“For me it was a yellow card. Militao was close, the ball wasn’t under control, and there were still 40 meters left. That’s my interpretation. The referee had another one, and VAR should have had another one too, but I’ve seen the replay and I haven’t changed my mind. I asked him, he gave me his explanation, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. We’ll leave it at that.”
Despite the controversy, Madrid held on to secure the three points. Still, the debate around Huijsen’s red card is certain to continue, with Alonso making clear that he expects the play to be reviewed by the CTA.
