After Dean Donny Huijsen was sent off with a red card in the match against Real Sociedad, Real Madrid has decided to formally submit an appeal to FIFA to systematically express its strong dissatisfaction with unfair refereeing decisions.
Dean Donny Huijsen's red card incident has become the "last straw" that broke Real Madrid’s patience. In fact, over the past two decades, Real Madrid has continuously publicly criticized refereeing decisions it deems biased and unfavorable to the club through various channels, such as its official TV station. Now, the club has decided to formally escalate this long-standing dispute to the FIFA level, aiming to prove the systematic unfair refereeing the team has encountered in recent years in a more internationally influential manner—with a particular focus on the refereeing environment that has continued to be affected since José María Enríquez Negreira worked for FC Barcelona.
Currently, the Negreira case is still under judicial proceedings. Real Madrid plans to highlight this incident in the materials to be submitted this time and attach all publicly available relevant news reports and investigation contents to enhance the persuasiveness of the appeal.
The appeal document Real Madrid intends to submit is detailed and well-supported by data. It will not only list the specific names of referees who the club believes have made controversial decisions on multiple occasions over the years but also include direct data comparisons with Barcelona—covering metrics such as the number of red and yellow cards, penalties awarded and rescinded, tendencies in foul calls, and the points lost as a consequence. The appeal materials will also incorporate other relevant evidence and analysis.
Furthermore, the document will cite critical reports from a number of well-known domestic and foreign journalists and authoritative media regarding the fairness and transparency of Spain’s refereeing system. It will also attach comparative studies on the consistency of refereeing standards and enforcement scales between La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, in an effort to illustrate the issue from multiple perspectives. Real Madrid emphasized that the primary purpose of submitting the appeal is not to request FIFA to rescind Jesús’ red card punishment, but to draw FIFA’s attention to the current state of football refereeing in Spain and formally file a complaint.
