Refereeing body admits mistake in Dean Huijsen red card

The Refereeing Technical Committee (CTA) stated on Tuesday that "the most appropriate sanction" for Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen's foul on Mikel Oyarzabal in the match against Real Sociedad "would have been a yellow card", rather than a red, "because not all the necessary conditions for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO) were met", meaning it was not a clear goalscoring opportunity.

They also pointed out that VAR "only intervenes in clear, obvious and manifest errors" and that this incident "falls within" the category of "borderline cases", which are "those that allow for more than one interpretation".

"Therefore, the decision should have remained with the referee and VAR was correct not to intervene," they asserted.  

In the 31st minute of last Saturday's match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, Dean Huijsen was sent off by referee Jesús Gil Manzano "for bringing down an opponent, thereby denying a clear goalscoring opportunity", as stated in the match report published on the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) website.

In their 'Review Time' programme, the CTA analyses that "the key concept" of the incident "is the interpretation" of whether "the presence and distance of a second defender can change the sanction from a yellow card to a straight red", as explained by the spokesperson for the Refereeing Technical Committee, Marta Frías.

"The referee shows a straight red as he believes it to be a clear goalscoring opportunity," she reiterated.

"The action presents two possible scenarios depending on a second Real Madrid defender. If we consider that he gets to contest the ball, the appropriate sanction would be a yellow card for a promising attack. If, as the referee interpreted it, the distance made that challenge impossible, it would be a clear goalscoring opportunity, punishable by expulsion," she added.

"Therefore, this committee believes that not all the necessary conditions for DOGSO are met and the most appropriate sanction would have been a yellow card," stated the Refereeing Technical Committee.