'Take good note of what is happening' - Furious Real Madrid to submit report to FIFA over state of Spanish refereeing after controversial red card in win at Real Sociedad

Real Madrid made it four wins out of four in La Liga under new head coach Xabi Alonso with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in a tricky away fixture against Real Sociedad. However, the three points came at a huge cost, with Huijsen, one of the first names on the team sheet, receiving a straight red in controversial circumstances. In the 32nd minute, Huijsen made contact with Mikel Oyarzabal's shoulder, with the duo sprinting side by side. The ball was visibly not in total control of the Sociedad captain, who went down after the challenge from Huijsen. Referee Jesus Gil Manzano immediately pulled out the red card, judging the defender's action to be a denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity. 

The theme from last season seems to have carried over into the ongoing one. Where ex-boss Carlo Ancelotti kept reiterating how he was unhappy with some of the decision-making, it was Alonso yesterday who stood up for his players and expressed his thoughts. After Huijsen was sent off, the Basque-born manager protested the decision and earned a yellow card himself. In the aftermath of the game, footage surfaced online which seemed to indicate the words exchanged between Alonso and the referee.

"Jesus, I don’t want to, but you’re making me think badly, man," Alonso told the referee. "Haven’t you seen that [Eder] Militao is on the side? But Militao is on the side! He’s five meters from the play. This one will go to the CTA (Technical Committee), for sure. It will go on video [for review], for sure."

In the post-match press conference, Alonso made it clear that Huijsen did not deserve a red. "For me it was a yellow card. Militao was close, the ball wasn’t under control, and there were still 40 meters left," the former Bayer Leverkusen coach said. "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."

After the game, Real Madrid TV, the club's official media channel, announced that Los Blancos would compile a report documenting all the errors in refereeing this season and from the last one. "Real Madrid is preparing a report with everything that has happened in these first four rounds of La Liga and what happened last season," said the announcement. "A dossier, that report, which is going to be submitted to FIFA so that they take good note of what is happening in Spanish football with regard to refereeing."

Although Saturday's victory was overshadowed by the controversy, Alonso and his troops will be eager to put that behind and focus on Wednesday's Champions League opener against French side Marseille. Madrid were dealt a huge blow on the eve of the Sociedad fixture, with Antonio Rudiger ruled out with a thigh injury which will keep him out of action until December. However, Huijsen will be available with his suspension only served domestically.