Following yet another controversial decision during their 2–1 win at Real Sociedad, Real Madrid have made it clear that they will take their worries about Spanish refereeing all the way to FIFA.
The moment of tension occurred in the 32nd minute when referee Jesús Gil Manzano handed defender Dean Huijsen a straight red card for a tackle on Mikel Oyarzabal. Sociedad maintained that Oyarzabal had a clear path to the goal, nevertheless, Huijsen and coach Xabi Alonso were adamant that Éder Militão was covering close by. Although the protests were vehement, the call of non-compliance remained and this ignited Madrid’s flow of anger.
The next day, the club communicated through Real Madrid TV that it intends to gather evidence about the referee’s decision in the first four La Liga games as well as in the last season. This document will be sent to FIFA and is thus the furthest step that Madrid has taken in its conflict with the Spanish officials.
Madrid have frequently complained about the quality of refereeing and most especially, they filed a formal complaint with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) last season after their defeat to Espanyol.
This decision was made just at the time when the RFEF’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) was announcing “Review Time,” a new transparency initiative. Huijsen’s firing is now predicted to be reviewed in the next episode of the program.
