Real Madrid coach says young defender “angry” at the controversial call
Xabi Alonso has said he was not “convinced” by the referee’s explanation of his decision to send off Real Madrid centre-back Dean Huijsen against Real Sociedad at Anoeta.
Real Madrid played nearly an hour with ten men after Huijsen was sent off for a foul on Mikel Oyarzabal, although they managed to win 2-1 and maintain their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Huijsen, who joined the club from Premier League side Bournemouth in the summer, was dismissed in the 32nd minute for hauling down Oyarzabal as the forward ran through on goal.
But Alonso disagreed with the decision, arguing that Huijsen was not the last man and it was not denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity because Eder Militao was close enough to recover.
“For me, it was a yellow card because Militao was close by,” said Alonso. “The ball wasn’t under control. They were 40 metres away.
“After seeing the replay, I haven’t changed my mind. The referee gave me his explanation and I wasn’t convinced, so we’ll leave it at that.
Alonso said that Huijsen was upset with the decision, although his mood was slightly improved because Madrid won.
“He was relieved,” said Alonso. “He was angry and relieved with the team’s victory. Yes, these are avoidable actions, because there was a lot of space and Oyarzabal didn’t have the ball under control.”
This was the second time this summer when Madrid have received a red card very early in a match but still gone ahead to win, the other being against Pachuca in their Club World Cup group stage game.
Alonso said: “You have to know how to play with ten men. It’s going to happen during the year.”
